The University of the West Indies, Mona is pleased to announce the promotion of Claremont Kirton, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Mona to the position of Professor, with effect from February 3, 2010.

Claremont Kirton holds the Bachelor of Sciences and Master of Sciences degrees in Economics from The University of the West Indies, Mona. He joined the staff of The University of the West Indies as a Lecturer in the Department of Economics in 1977. He has served as Visiting Lecturer/Scholar at universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Curacao, Suriname, Cuba and Guyana. He is an accomplished public intellectual and development economist with a focus on the Caribbean region.

Professor Kirton has achieved distinction as an academic researcher, exceptional teacher, administrator and public servant. His academic work has concentrated on Caribbean economic development. In particular, he has focused on analysing the critical problems experienced by Caribbean economies and offering solutions to these problems, especially in areas related to economic planning and finance; he has also published widely on informal economic activities and micro/small scale entrepreneurial activities as means of economic survival by the poorer strata in Caribbean society.

His research on Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAS) (the Jamaican ‘partner’) reflects independent research which has enhanced the knowledge base of both international and Caribbean scholarship. This research, along with his studies on informal economic activities, has had a direct impact on national economic policy in Jamaica as well as the credit policies of public and private sector institutions. The ROSCA studies have influenced further inquiries into the operations of informal saving arrangements in developing countries and significantly impacted small scale and micro enterprise research and public policy throughout the Caribbean.

Professor Kirton is one of the founder members of the Caribbean Diaspora Economy Research Group (CDERG) in the Department of Economics and has produced work on the macroeconomic aspects of remittances and their role in Caribbean national and regional economic development, generating useful policy implications. Additionally, his work on the relationship between crime and development in Jamaica has been particularly useful and relevant for developing country policymaking beyond the Caribbean.

Claremont Kirton has researched and published in the area of banking and finance, dealing with indigenous banking, non-bank financial intermediaries (credit unions, housing finance institutions), financial sector crises and informal finance. This research work has resulted in numerous peer-reviewed studies, reports and organised activities on issues of major importance for the Jamaican economy and the wider Caribbean region.

Professor Kirton has coordinated the undergraduate teaching programme in the Department of Economics for many years as well as providing leadership in the critical area of curriculum review. As a teacher, he is highly regarded for his innovative use of instructional techniques, high student assessment scores, administrative leadership, and his care for the holistic development of his students. He has been responsible for the introduction of a number of new courses and has been actively involved in reviewing and modifying courses in the Department. More recently, he initiated and coordinated the establishment and successful implementation of the BSc Degree programme in Banking and Finance, offered jointly by the Departments of Economics and Management Studies.

Professor Kirton has received outstanding success in, and wide recognition for his professional activities at the national, regional and international levels. In addition to his consulting and advisory role to agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the Word Bank and the European Union, he has served on a wide range of national and regional bodies in the public and private sectors as well as civil society. This includes work with the CARICOM Secretariat as a Member of the Working Group preparing the Strategic Plan for Regional Development. He has been a Member of the Task Force on Preparation of the CARICOM Competition Commission and the implementation of Competition Policy in the CSME. Professor Kirton has served on the Board of Directors of the Jamaica Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Association of Development Agencies and the National Development Bank, Jamaica.  He is a Trustee of the George Beckford Foundation, Jamaica and a founder member of the Association of Caribbean Economists (ACE).