Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina, Minister of Finance Marinka Gumbs and TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten at the forum.
PHILIPSBURG--The Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) hosted its second symposium of 2025 on May 21, spotlighting the crucial role of data and statistics for St. Maarten’s economic research and policymaking.
The “Better Data, Better Decisions” symposium highlighted the importance of accurate data, especially balance-of-payments statistics, on which CBCS relies for economic analysis in the monetary union. The event aimed to foster dialogue and collaboration among the academic community, regional counterparts and other stakeholders.
Small countries like St. Maarten face “challenges in collecting accurate and reliable statistics due to limited resources, capacity constraints and vulnerability to external shocks.” The situation is further complicated by St. Maarten’s open border with French Saint Martin, adding “complexity to building a robust and comprehensive statistical system.”
The symposium had three main objectives: “to raise awareness of the importance of data and statistics for the CBCS’s work and core tasks,” to present findings from empirical research on St. Maarten’s economic performance, including “foreign direct investment inflows and regional integration,” and to engage the public in “a meaningful exchange” to improve the quality and relevance of CBCS statistics and research.
Participants included government officials, business leaders and other interested parties. Representatives of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), including its governor, and the regional director of Institut d’Émission des Départements d’Outre-Mer (IEDOM) also attended to share insights and participate in discussions.
The symposium is the second in a series planned for 2025. Earlier in January, CBCS hosted a symposium in Curaçao focused on “the critical role of government in the economy.” In November, CBCS will host the Caribbean Economic Research Team’s annual Monetary Studies Conference, bringing together researchers from CARICOM countries.
Meanwhile, CBCS is actively working to enhance St. Maarten’s data environment by collaborating with key stakeholders and improving the compilation of balance of payments statistics. Discussions with IEDOM are ongoing to better measure “cross-border flows and GDP.”
CBCS also seeks to “strengthen local collaboration with St. Maarten’s Department of Statistics STAT and other key stakeholders” to improve trade statistics and real sector data, including “national accounts and inflation figures.”
Presentations from the symposium are available on the CBCS website.
