Cuba is prepared to assimilate the accelerated changes in the global economy, Joseph Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel Economic Sciences Laureate, stated during a conference organized by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment held in the capital.
Speaking at the event in Havana’s Hotel Nacional attended by renowned Cuban and foreign researchers, in addition to the Vice President of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba (ANEC) and Hero of the Republic of Cuba, Ramón Labañino Salazar, he noted that global economic development will center on the service sector and the employment of skilled workers, and that Cuba is advanced in this area.
“Since my last visit to Cuba, in 2002, drastic changes have occurred across the world, especially from the technological point of view. The development that has taken place in this sphere has resulted in the accelerated decline in manufacturing opportunities. Workforces are being displaced by advanced robotics,” Stiglitz explained.
He stressed that the great challenge facing the contemporary world is to generate employment and to strengthen those services sectors that expand the knowledge and skills of workers. Cuba, according to Stiglitz, is prepared for this challenge and only needs to identify its main potentialities.
In this regard, he commented on two aspects that Cuba could take advantage of and for which it stands out on the global level: agriculture and solar energy.
“Cuba, because of its geographical position, has a very rich supply of sunshine. In the United States, the coal and oil industries prevent this valuable form of energy from being promoted. This is not the case in Cuba,” the Nobel Laureate noted.
The changes in recent years have been far-reaching and “we have to rethink the economy,” he added, “but Cuba is well positioned. Its economic development will depend on this.”
This Wednesday, December 7, the author of economics classics such as The Price of Inequality and Globalization and Its Discontents, offered a lecture in the Aula Magna of the University of Havana.