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CBCS hosted a symposium with key economic stakeholders
Countries should address vulnerabilities on balance of payments
Willemstad/Philipsburg – On January 19, 2024, the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) hosted the symposium “Fostering the Right Balance”, that focused on the vulnerabilities of the balance of payments of small economies. In his opening remarks, Executive Director of the CBCS, dr. José Jardim, highlighted some common characteristics that Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten share with regards to the balance of payments: “All three countries are relatively small, have a high degree of trade openness, have relatively high tourism export ratios, and are very dependent on merchandise imports. The countries also face a structural deficit on their trade balance”. “The balance of payments provides important insights into a country’s international position and reflects the stance of the domestic economy as well. Not only does it tell us how an external imbalance is financed but also the roots of that imbalance: either private investments exceed domestic private savings or fiscal policy is expansionary. So, if a country runs external imbalances, its domestic components are not in balance either, dr. Jardim added.