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FinObservatory

Crisis atlas / JAM

Jamaica

10 distinct crisis events in 5 episodes, 1978–2013, from the union of five primary chronologies.

Debt profile: government debt trajectory and crisis-start levels →

3
Banking crises
3
Currency crises
4
Sovereign debt crises
10
Crisis events
1978–2013
Span

Crisis timeline

Every distinct (year, type) event, most recent first, with the chronologies flagging it. Start-year sources (GMD, JST) do not mark continuation years, so long episodes show lower agreement after their first year.

  1. 2013
    Sovereign debtlaeven_valencia1 source
  2. 2010
    Sovereign debtgmd, laeven_valencia2 sources
  3. 1998
    Bankinglaeven_valencia1 source
  4. 1997
    Bankinglaeven_valencia1 source
  5. 1996
    Bankinggmd, laeven_valencia2 sources
  6. 1991
    Currencygmd, laeven_valencia2 sources
  7. 1990
    Sovereign debtgmd, laeven_valencia2 sources
  8. 1983
    Currencygmd, laeven_valencia2 sources
  9. 1978
    Sovereign debtgmd, laeven_valencia2 sources
    Currencygmd, laeven_valencia2 sources

Source: Global Macro Database 2026_06 (Müller, Xu, Lehbib & Chen 2025) | Jordà-Schularick-Taylor Macrohistory R6 | Laeven & Valencia (2020) | Reinhart-Rogoff via HBS BFFS | ECB/ESRB Financial Crises Database Methodology

Macro context around each episode

Inflation, central-bank policy rate, and government debt in a window of five years either side of each crisis episode (consecutive crisis years bridged across gaps of up to two years). Crisis years shaded.

1978

CurrencySovereign debt
Inflation (% y/y)
02040197319781983
Policy rate (%)
No data for this window
Govt debt (% of GDP)
0100200197319781983

1983

Currency
Inflation (% y/y)
02040197819831988
Policy rate (%)
No data for this window
Govt debt (% of GDP)
0100200300197819831988

1990–1991

Sovereign debtCurrency
Inflation (% y/y)
050100198519901996
Policy rate (%)
No data for this window
Govt debt (% of GDP)
0100200300198519901996

1996–1998

BankingFiscal cost 43.9% of GDP, output loss 37.8% of GDP (Laeven-Valencia 2026)
Inflation (% y/y)
050100199119962003
Policy rate (%)
0102030199119962003
Govt debt (% of GDP)
0100200199119962003

2010–2013

Sovereign debt
Inflation (% y/y)
0102030200520102018
Policy rate (%)
01020200520102018
Govt debt (% of GDP)
050100150200520102018

Source: Global Macro Database 2026_06 (Müller, Xu, Lehbib & Chen 2025) Inflation is % year over year; policy rate is the central-bank rate in %; government debt is % of GDP. Methodology