Economist Carlos Asilis, a former US equity strategist at J.P. Morgan now with New York-based hedge fund Vega Asset Management, warned that Dominican political parties have made an enormous mistake by concentrating on the short term and not planning the development of the country. In an interview with Hoy newspaper, Asilis explained that is the reason why the major discussion in the country focuses on matters such as to build a metro or an airport.
He says the government is reacting, and this makes the country more vulnerable to shocks, both domestic as well as external, such as the high price of petroleum.
Asilis was a guest speaker at the National Young Entrepreneurs Association workshop, “Strategy for Sustainable Growth in the DR: Challenges.” In his talk, he had emphasized that the DR is falling behind in human development areas, which puts the DR at a disadvantage with competitor nations. He spoke against increasing taxes unless there is an institutional reform that ensures transparency in the use of resources, given the present high level of corruption in the DR. He expressed concern over the high dependency of the tax system on consumer taxes.
He suggested that the minutes of the meetings of the Monetary Board be made public so that the actions of this board, that is responsible for monetary policy, be made transparent. He also suggested that the way the board members are chosen be changed, to insure that they be competent and avoid conflicts of interest.
He also favored that the Dominican government encourage more first-rate banks enter the Dominican banking market. He said this would contribute to self regulate the system, lower costs and foster economic development, with an increase in financial resources to productive sectors.
Asilis said that the greater potential of the economy is in services, given that the higher energy cost makes it difficult for industries to compete.