“Resilience through Transformation”
WILLEMSTAD/PHILIPSBURG:--- From 12 to 14 November 2025, the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) hosted the 56th Annual Monetary Studies Conference (AMSC), the Caribbean’s longest-standing forum for economic research, under the theme “Resilience through Transformation”. Organized in partnership with the Caribbean Economic Research Team (CERT), the three-day, in-person conference brought together central bankers, academics, and economic experts from across the region to exchange evidence, insights, and policy ideas. The conference highlighted the vital role of central bank research in shaping effective, evidence-based policy.
Each year, economic researchers, particularly from the region’s central banks, gather at the AMSC to present and discuss work on Caribbean economies. CERT, a research institute established by the central banks of the CARICOM countries, coordinates the event. This year, the CBCS had the honor of hosting the 56th edition, which welcomed 75 economists from across the region.
The conference theme, “Resilience through transformation,” emphasized that, in an era of rising uncertainty and global turbulence, economic transformation is essential to strengthening Caribbean economies' resilience. Setting the tone at the opening ceremony on November 12, CBCS President Richard Doornbosch welcomed participants to Willemstad and underscored that “resilience in the Caribbean must be built by design, through steady gains in productivity and inclusion, credible policy frameworks, and institutions that can adapt to accelerating change”. He added, “Climate risks are now systemic, geopolitical and trade tensions are intensifying, and digital technologies are reshaping finance and the real economy, making rigorous research and regional cooperation more important than ever”.
The AMSC program featured peer-reviewed research sessions consisting of 19 working papers organized around the region’s priorities, including growth and productivity, trade and tourism, climate and environmental sustainability, foreign direct investment, the future of money and payments, and public finances and fiscal sustainability.
The conference also included the Adlith Brown Memorial Lecture, delivered by Mrs. Jeanette Semeleer, President of the Centrale Bank van Aruba and a respected voice in the Caribbean community, who will conclude her tenure as Central Bank President later this month.
On the final day of the conference, a Governors’ Panel of four CARICOM central bank presidents examined “The Changing Role of the U.S. Dollar Amid Rising Stablecoins: Implications for Caribbean Resilience,” exploring what global monetary shifts mean for exchange-rate regimes, reserve management, payment systems, capital flows, and financial stability in Caribbean economies.
The CBCS sincerely thanks CERT for putting together an insightful and comprehensive agenda, the authors, chairpersons and discussants for their months of dedicated research and preparation, and the Caribbean central banks and universities for sustaining this community for more than 50 years. The Annual Monetary Studies Conference continues to inspire collaboration, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to exchange ideas, strengthen partnerships, and deepen understanding of the region’s economy.
Willemstad, 17 November 2025
CENTRALE BANK VAN CURAÇAO EN SINT MAARTEN