The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has calculated that 2003 has been the worst year for the Dominican Republic in the last decade. The Latin America-wide economic think-tank lists the 1.3% contraction in the economy, an inflation rate that topped 40%, the crisis in the banking sector, the increase in international debt, the quasi-fiscal deficit and the banking crisis as the main ingredients that have led to this dismal situation.