By Craig Harewood Investment Director at OurInterest Inc. From Caribbean News Now

The expectations of society in which you reside are important to all citizens. If you live in Nigeria, there is level of mistrust when doing business; if you live in Honduras you expect a certain level of crime, etc.

Expectations change over time, as society begins to view any sustained new behaviour as the norm. This behaviour is replicated in the financial markets as changes in economic conditions and expectations influence buying or selling. Currently, the international financial market is unclear as to whether or not the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, which has contributed to uncertainty in the market.

Closer to home, Barbadians aren’t sure if the new normal is increased crime and lower economic activity. If Barbadians come to this conclusion, then perhaps we would see more Barbadians going to other “safer” Caribbean countries, which has been the case with some other Caribbean nationals settling in Barbados. Expectation of a higher incidence of crime would be destabilizing, as human resources and capital flight may commence.

Fortunately or unfortunately, expectations aren’t perfectly rational, they are shaped by the media and our environment – friends, family, social media, etc. Being a reactive society, perhaps our expectations of crime and the future economic outlook will adjust slowly, which is a good thing in relation to crime. It gives the nation much needed time to address crime before gun violence becomes “the expected” amongst Barbadians. Unfortunately tourists may not be as patient, hopeful and understanding.

To labour on the point, if crime is expected to increase, we wouldn’t correct deviant young men because their path is now anticipated. Similarly, if we expect a deterioration of the economy, we will all be correct as we cut spending and as businesses make provisions for the anticipated drop in demand. The expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies.

An investment in the education system, with a focus on equipping parents and teachers is needed and greater investment into new business ventures. The topic of education reform has been in the public sphere for many years, probably since I was at Erdiston Primary School. Perhaps we should increase our expectations of all our children and believe that all are good at something, whether it be technical, vocational or academic.

We should celebrate all our children as successfully graduating from primary into a school of excellence where they will make us even prouder of them. With this expectation what a self-fulfilling prophecy we would achieve!

New business ventures are something that Barbados is sorely lacking, especially in areas outside of the traditional sectors. This is why I welcome a slowly emerging technology sector in Barbados and the recent strides in the local film Industry.

We need to make life “liveable” on the outside (of jail), rather than having young men looking forward to going to jail to get three meals a day, television and a chance to exercise. Some may argue that making life on the inside of jail more difficult is a cheaper and better solution and I would simply politely disagree. Honey is sweeter than vinegar and we need to move our youth towards new honey. The Barbadians going into jail eventually leave jail and we would be committing the second crime if they see no alternative but to commit crime again to live.

Challenge your expectations and those of others in your immediate circle.

Craig Harewood is the investment director at OurInterest Inc. This article is intended to be general in nature, and is not meant to give specific investment advice to any individual. The author does not accept any liability for investment deals made or any action taken as a result of reading this article. The opinions, which are subject to change, are those of the author and not of any company within the OurInterest Group.

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Regional-Economics%3A-Changing-expectations—crime-and-the-economy-27560.html