Faculty of Social Sciences

Department of Economics

Ms. Lisa Drakes

Lecturer in Economics

Department: ECON

Contact details

Bio

Ms. Lisa Drakes joined the Department of Economics at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, in August 2025, bringing with her extensive professional experience in economic analysis, policy development and programme implementation across national, regional and international institutions.

Prior to joining the University, Ms Drakes served as an Economist at the Caribbean Development Bank and as a Project Development Consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank. She also worked with the European Union Delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean as a Project Officer (Economic Affairs), where she supported  the design and implementation of budget support programmes. Earlier in her career, Ms. Drakes spent several years in the Research and Economic Analysis Department of the Central Bank of Barbados, where she progressed from a Research Officer to the position of Senior Economist and Head of the Debt Unit. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Governance and Public Policy.

 

Qualifications

MSc Sustainable Development, University of London

MSc Financial and Business Economics, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus

BSc Economics and Management (First Class Honors), The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus

Certificate in Project Management, The University of the West Indies, Open Campus

Research Areas

Fiscal policy and food security

Teaching Areas

Introduction to Microeconomics

Introduction to Macroeconomics

Intermediate Macroeconomics I

Publications

  • External Public Debt in the Caribbean Community: A Non- stationary Panel Approach. Journal of Policy Modelling, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 418- 431, May 2010 (with Kevin Greenidge and Roland Craigwell).
  • A New Measure of Taxation: An Application to Barbados, Journal of Public Sector Policy Analysis, Vol.3, No.1, pp. 40-61, (with Kevin Greenidge).
  • Tax Policy and Macroeconomic Activity in Barbados, Money Affairs, Vol. XXIII, Issue 2, pp. 182-210, Jul-Dec 2010 (with Roland Craigwell and Kevin Greenidge).
  • Tourism Services Exports and Economic Growth in Barbados, International Trade Journal, 25, No. 2, pp. 205 – 232, March 2011 (with Brian Francis and Troy Lorde).
  • Causality between Debt and Sovereign Credit Ratings using Panel Tests, The Empirical Economics Letters, Vol. 10, No. 10, October 2011 (with Kevin Greenidge and Roland Craigwell).
  • Threshold Effects of Sovereign Debt: Evidence from the Caribbean, IMF Working Paper 12/157, June 2012 (with Kevin Greenidge, Roland Craigwell and Chrystol Thomas).