Joseph Cox
CARICOM Secretariat
Assistant Secretary-General
An Applied Economics Consultant and Advocate for over twenty-five (25) years, Joseph Cox assumed duties as the Assistant Secretary-General, Trade and Economic Integration at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat on 1 September 2015. A Jamaican national, he holds both a Bachelor and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of the West Indies.
Prior to his most recent posting, he was the Managing Partner for the Centre for Growth and Development in Jamaica, doubled as the Executive Director, Growth Secretariat, at the Planning Institute of Jamaica and provided oversight for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) / Government of Jamaica (GOJ) Competitiveness Enhancement Programme. Mr. Cox’s contribution to Jamaica’s national development has manifested itself, in part, through the establishment of three (3) Financial Institutions and includes the preparation of the Taxation for Growth Strategy for Jamaica, Municipal Finance Reform Strategy and an intervention strategy entitled “Towards a Modern Development Approvals Mechanism” which was to overhaul the construction permitting system in Jamaica. He was also engaged in advocacy of a myriad of social and economic policy issues. In October 2014, Mr. Cox conceptualised and led a demand side access to finance intervention entitled the “Financial Information and Real-time Matchmaking (FIRM) initiative, in which some J$1.9B (US$174.0m) in financing was obtained for the Jamaican business community.
President of Trafalgar Council, former Director of Economic Research and Business Development at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), and Group Director of Corporate Development at Island Life, Mr. Cox has also distinguished himself in the International Development Partner Community, having successfully completed diverse assignments for the IDB and World Bank. A prolific writer, he is the former Editor of the Financial Journal – a monthly financial magazine, and is also an active blogger and former talk show host. He received the Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation for Service to Jamaica in 2012.