Cuba’s “de-dollarization program” was initiated with the approval of Resolution No. 65 by the Banco Central de Cuba (BCC) on July 23, 2003. Resolution No. 65 established the convertible peso (CUC) as the only acceptable currency for all entities that had previously accepted U.S. dollars; mandated the conversion of their U.S. dollar holdings to convertible […]

In the mid 1990s, Cuba implemented a growth-driven strategy to attract remittances from abroad. The fundamental elements of this strategy consisted of the legalization of the U.S. dollar, the expansion of a national network of state-run “dollar stores” (tiendas de recaudación de divisas—TRDs), the development of government-operated exchange bureaus (Casas de Cambio, S.A.—CADECAS), and the […]

Over recent years, much of the debate surrounding the present and future state of Havana’s (and Cuba’s) housing sector has centered around the legal and economic issues related to restitution and compensation for confiscated properties, and strategies to stimulate much needed investment in this vital sector of the economy (e.g., Ashby, 2004, 2005; Driggs, 2005; […]