Timothy N. J. Antoine and the modernisation of Caribbean central banking: rethinking monetary policy in small open economies

Caribbean small open economies have long been exposed to a macroeconomic environment that is typified by structural weaknesses, such as small export bases, high levels of importation, exogenous shocks in world prices of external commodities and frequent climate risks. These structural vices have in the past curtailed the capacity of the Eastern Caribbean economies to pursue sustainable and steady growth. In this difficult environment, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) under the management of Timothy N. J. Antoine has embarked on a modernisation programme to re-engineer the position of the central bank in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). Antoine, since coming to office in 2016, has promoted a resilience-oriented and developmental approach to monetary governance, which represents a break with many traditional doctrines that have dominated the policy discourse in larger developed economies.