Should African Monetary Unions Be Expanded? An Empirical Investigation of the Scope for Monetary Integration in Sub-Saharan Africa PDF Download

Author: Mr.Xavier Debrun
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1455201405
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Book Description
This paper develops a full-fledged cost-benefit analysis of monetary integration, and applies it to the currency unions actively pursued in Africa. The benefits of monetary union come from a more credible monetary policy, while the costs derive from real shock asymmetries and fiscal disparities. The model is calibrated using African data. Simulations indicate that the proposed EAC, ECOWAS, and SADC monetary unions bring about net benefits to some potential members, but modest net gains and sometimes net losses for others. Strengthening domestic macroeconomic frameworks is shown to provide some of the same improvements as monetary integration, reducing the latter’s relative attractiveness.

Author: Simplice Asongu
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 11

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Book Description
This review summarises a survey of about 70 empirical studies on proposed African monetary unions published during the past fifteen years. Four main strands are outlined in four tables. They include the: (i) West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), (ii) East African Monetary Union (EAMU), (iii) Southern African Monetary Union (SAMU) and (iv) African Monetary Union (AMU). A number of concerns are apparent from the feasibility and/or desirability of potential monetary unions. They are variations in: empirical strategies, selection of variables, considered periodicities and sampled countries. The Hegelian dialectics are used to establish selective expansion as the predominant mode of monetary integration. Some studies make the case for strong institutions and pegs as alternatives to currency unions. The employment of cluster analysis, distinguishing shocks from responses in the examination of business cycle synchronisation and the disaggregation of panels into sub-samples provide more subtle policy implications.

Author: Simplice Asongu
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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Book Description
This study provides a survey of recent advances in the literature on proposed African monetary unions. The survey comprises about 60 empirical papers published during the past fifteen years. Four main strands are discussed individually and collectively, notably, the proposed: West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), East African Monetary Union (EAMU), Southern African Monetary Union (SAMU) and African Monetary Union (AMU). We observe a number of issues with establishing the feasibility and/or desirability of potential monetary unions, inter alia, variations in: choice of variables, empirical strategies, sampled countries and considered periodicities. We address this ambiguity by reviewing studies with scenarios that are consistent with Hegelian dialectics and establish selective expansion as the predominant mode of monetary integration. Some proponents make cases for strong pegs and institutions as viable alternatives to currency unions. Using cluster analysis, disaggregating panels into sub-samples and distinguishing shocks from responses in the examination of business cycle synchronisation provide more subtle policy implications. We caution that for inquiries using the same theoretical underpinnings, variables and methods just by modifying the scope/context and periodicity may only contribute to increasing the number of conflicting findings. Authors should place more emphasis on new perspectives and approaches based on caveats of, and lessons from the European Monetary Union (EMU) and CFA zones.

Author: NESRIN ÖZATAÇ
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319668722
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
This volume presents current developments in the fields of banking and finance from an international perspective. Featuring contributions from the 2nd International Conference on Banking and Finance Perspectives (ICBFP), this volume serves as a valuable forum for discussing current issues and trends in the banking and financial sectors, especially in light of the global economic challenges triggered by financial institutions. Using the latest theoretical models, new perspectives are brought to topics such as e-finance and e-banking, Islamic banking, international cross-border regulatory cooperation, bank fraud, the global financial crisis, microfinance, and corporate control transactions. Offering an opportunity to explore the challenges of a rapidly changing industry, this volume will be of interest to academics, policy makers, and scholars in the fields of banking, insurance, and finance.

Author: Helmut Asche
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030753662
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
This book examines the past, present and prospects of regional economic integration in Africa. The empirical analysis ranges from unions formed during the years following independence, to the proposed African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to remove trade barriers between all 55 African states. In addition, the book explores to what extent Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have advanced in accordance with a linear integration model of goods, labor and capital markets. The book subsequently evaluates the suitability of the European model of deep integration with costly institutions for the conditions specific to Africa, considering, for example, the role of informal and non-recorded trade. Stylized cases of regional division of labour with increasing returns and imperfect competition are introduced to support the economic integration logic. Past and current economic policies in Africa are scrutinized to answer the question: how can African regions best foster new manufacturing industries and value chains across the continent? In conclusion, the book outlines content and processes of Common Industrial Policy in the African regions. The book also addresses the controversial issue of international trade agreements between developing countries and the European Union or the USA and investigates whether these agreements impede or promote economic development in Africa. The book includes a detailed roadmap describing how to improve key clauses of agreements for economic partnership in the interest of African countries. In closing, it outlines a new vision of joint sustainable development for Africa and Europe.

Author: Diana Barrowclough
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030645762
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
This book shows how regional cooperation and integration have increased massively in scale and scope in recent years, as developing countries seek new ways to shield themselves from economic turbulence and to kick-start their economies in the face of stagnant global demand. The trend is partly a defense mechanism against the limitations of the international financial system, but also reflects a wider search for new and different growth paths more appropriate with developing countries’ increasing economic and political voice. As a consequence, the landscape of financial and monetary mechanisms has changed dramatically, especially in the ten years since the economic crisis of 2007–2008.

Author: Eswar Prasad
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815738544
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
" Assessing the potential benefits and risks of a currency union Leaders of the fifteen-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have set a goal of achieving a monetary and currency union by late 2020. Although some progress has been made toward achieving this ambitious goal, major challenges remain if the region is to realize the necessary macroeconomic convergence and establish the required institutional framework in a relatively short period of time. The proposed union offers many potential benefits, especially for countries with historically high inflation rates and weak central banks. But, as implementation of the euro over the past two decades has shown, folding multiple currencies, representing disparate economies, into a common union comes with significant costs, along with operational challenges and transitional risks. All these potential negatives must be considered carefully by ECOWAS leaders seeking tomeet a self-imposed deadline. This book, by two leading experts on economics and Africa, makes a significant analytical contribution to the debates now under way about how ECOWAS could achieve and manage its currency union, andthe ramifications for the African continent. "

Author: Patrick Honohan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Euro
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description

Author: Juan-Antonio Morales
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198854714
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
The book gives a broad coverage of the monetary policy issues in Low Financial Development Countries (LFDCs). These low and lower middle income countries are characterized by a predominance of bank finance, shallow financial markets, low financial inclusion, weak integration with world capital markets and a high degree of informality in economic activity. Monetary policy acquires special twists, making it different in many aspects from the policies followed in advanced and emerging market economies. The book covers the main facets of monetary policy making, using an approach that combines the discussion of theoretical arguments, of results from empirical studies and of policy experiences relevant for LFDCs. The book presents the monetary policy instruments they use and assesses the specificities of their monetary transmission mechanism. It evaluates the advantages, drawbacks and challenges of the different nominal anchors they may choose from: exchange rate targeting, monetary targeting and inflation targeting. This discussion is set against the background of the three main goals pursued by central banks: price, output and financial stability. Particular attention is devoted to the issue of the credibility of central banks and to the trade-offs they face when external shocks, to which these countries are very vulnerable, lead to conflicts among the three goals they pursue. The book also covers more specific topics, such as the challenges raised by fiscal dominance and by dollarization, the implications of informal labor markets and of microfinance institutions for monetary policy-making and the role of models for forecasting and policy evaluation.

Author: Masson Paul R
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9811201730
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
This book presents articles that focus on the inter-related issues of choice of exchange rate and monetary policy regimes, and others that use a global macroeconomic model developed by the author and collaborators to quantify the effects of the 'baby boom' on global imbalances, costs of disinflation, and the effects of German unification. The book presents new analysis of the euro-zone experience and its applicability to other monetary unions, as well as a discussion of the prerequisites for successful inflation targeting. It is grounded in real-world data, readily accessible to non-specialists, and addresses important economic policy issues.