NEWS

Six years ago, in the peak of an unseen frenzy, it was hard to imagine the current crisis in which the Puerto Rico housing sector is now trapped. What began as a disturbing mess in 2007 has turned into a nightmare for developers, bankers, brokers, and the economy as a whole? Past and current administrations have not remained indifferent to housing woes and have squeezed public coffers to get this sector back on track. Public money might have stopped the bleeding, but the housing boat is wrecked and a long awaited rebound does not loom ahead soon. The golden years of housing are gone. An unfortunate combination of demographic and economic factors is standing against housing, and the public and private sectors will have to team up to rescue housing in Puerto Rico. Don’t miss this interesting issue.

The greatest difficulty in assessing the current economic situation is that this cycle is not the traditional boom-bust cycle, as anyone following economic news lately can attest. The ongoing situation is better described as a structural social and economic adjustment driven by both demographics and a reshaping of PR’s productive base that will, undoubtedly, redefine what “normal” means in PR.  Both are partly dependent on each other but also respond to different contexts. Demographics, in particular, is a formidable analytical challenge as the economic consequences of changes in the Island’s resident population are hard to even imagine. The “allocation of resources” question, the second issue at hand, will determine the Island’s economic landscape in coming decades.  This issue of the Pulse examines the signs that can we expect as the economy begins to re-write what normalcy is. These might surprise you.

We examine Puerto Rico’s experience with budget cutting since fiscal 2009. The goal of said “fiscal discipline”, i.e. spending cuts and tax increases, was to preserve the investment grade or credit rating of PR’s public debt by Moody’s and S&P’s rating agencies. This tighter fiscal policy reinforced the contraction of PR’s economy, which started in fiscal 2007 and continued thru fiscal 2011. Cuts in government outlays increased unemployment and were not offset by strength in consumer spending, nor in residential and non-residential investment nor in export growth. Despite lower interest rates, the private sector did not invest given the glut of residential housing, bank consolidation, and a global financial crisis that caused a recession in the US and Europe. Find out how the government deficit was financed? You cannot hike taxes and cut spending without impacting growth. Has PR protected the investment rating of its public debt? What will it take to recover a growth path in the island?

As fiscal 2011 ended last June 2011, official data is estimated to once again post a contraction in real GNP growth for the PR economy. The island has had five years of recession, defined as negative real annual growth of its GNP. The crisis has exerted negative pressure on all sectors of the economy. The Government has continued to raise PR’s heavy public debt, a challenge that will adversely impact the fiscal outlook of the central government and its public corporations. Construction has been hardest hit with repeated declines in public and private investment, which continue to hamper future economic growth. Consumer sentiment seems to be less negative given the modest increase in car and other retail sales. Unemployment is high and inflation is inching higher with increased oil prices. This issue offers subscribers the opportunity to review the economic outlook and weave the internal and external economic threats present in this election year and in the near term future.

This is the worst recession in Puerto Rico’s history. The island economy has contracted 13% since FY 2006 or the past five years. Given this negative growth in recent years, the labor market is experiencing the consequences. What are these impacts? Is there any recovery in sight that will generate badly needed and well paid jobs in the current labor market? This issue analyzes those sectors that have lost most jobs and how trends in the labor force can give different meanings to the performance of the unemployment rate. A common misconception is that a decline in the unemployment rate is by definition is always a positive result. Find out when it is not. The recession has raised the structural rate of unemployment, reducing labor supply and potential output.The island faces many challenges ahead. Nobody said economic recovery in PR would be easy. Simply put: a shortage of jobs is bad for economic growth.

Puerto Rico’s current economic situation, just like that of any country, reflects both temporary and long-term effects. Many of the long-term economic processes, in turn, are supported by what economists call “structural” variables. These are variables that determine the type of economic activity and the manner in which it takes place. During the last decade, Puerto Rico witnessed a significant change in one such variable—population—coupled with an unprecedented economic downturn. The Island lost significant income, wealth and people. In peacetime, and barring any major natural disaster, such events are far from the norm, although they are not unusual. This issue of the Pulse, the fifth installment of a series dedicated to analyze PR’s population shift, will examine the socioeconomic dynamics that took place during the last decade with particular emphasis on demographic data for all municipalities in Puerto Rico. The results will surprise you.

Demographers’ warnings have become true: the world is getting grayer. Cohorts of people aged 60 years and older are swelling at an unprecedented rate. They now account for 11% of the world population and for a larger chunk in PR with 20% of total population. An aging population brings challenges and opportunities. This trend exerts pressure on pension systems, health services, labor market, retail, entertainment, housing, and government services. Find out what is the profile of our seniors in PR and how their spending differs from other age groups. Their buying trends are usually dictated by a need to maintain an active lifestyle and this represents a great opportunity in the market. We often mention other countries as “new markets”, but the market for seniors should not be underestimated. The opportunity awaits entrepreneurs who can match what seniors want with the correct product. Let’s take a look at Grandpa’s shopping cart and future pressure on government for more services.