Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'West African Monetary Zone'

Inflation and output growth relationship is of interest to policymakers and researchers. In the West African Monetary Zone, the attainment of low inflation rate is considered as one of the convergence criteria for the successful implementation of monetary union in the zone. Although there has been empirical evidence that the relationship between inflation and output growth in the WAMZ is non-linear, the question yet to be answered is, “at what level is inflation detrimental to economic growth?” This paper extends the link of analysis by investigating the optimal inflation for the WAMZ countries using the quadratic approach to threshold estimation. The findings drawing from economic theory and analysis suggests that inflation rate in the WAMZ is significantly associated with lower growth only after it reaches 12.86 percent. The result further indicates that there are significant differences in the inflation threshold levels in the WAMZ countries. The findings of this research are not surprising given the institutional features and structure of the different countries in the zone. The findings of the research suggest that monetary authorities in the WAMZ countries could accommodate inflation rate up to the threshold level, even when that is higher than what is currently being targeted in the zone, so as not to stifle growth in the area. Also, although the WAMZ countries belong to the same geographical area, which could enhance group formation; there could be other sources of heterogeneity like different political, legal, economic, and national policies that drive individual growth processes in the zone.
Central Bank of Nigeria

Depuis 1939, une partie des pays de l'Afrique de l'Ouest a pour monnaie le Franc CFA d'Afrique de l'Ouest. Ces pays constituent, de fait, une zone monétaire. La dévaluation du CFA de 1994 marque le passage d'une convertibilité automatique à une convertibilité partielle. Il est alors légitime de s'interroger sur l'optimalité de cette zone monétaire surtout dans un contexte où la Zone Euro connaît elle même des difficultés.Elle a pour ambition de s'interroger sur l'optimalité de la zone monétaire l'Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine. L'étude a donc pour objectif d'identifier si cette zone monétaire est une Zone Monétaire Optimale, (ZMO) au sens de MUNDELL (1961). L'objet d'étude soulevé ici portera plus particulièrement sur l'analyse des critères de faisabilité d'une ZMO et le passage à des critères de soutenabilité. Les critères de premier rang d'une ZMO, déterminés par les auteurs précurseurs de littérature sur la question dans les années 1960 et 1970, constitués principalement par les apports de MUNDELL, (1961).Notre travail propose de ne pas se limiter à la définition donnée par MUNDELL, même si cette théorie s'applique à juste titre pour des pays candidats à l'adhésion. Dans ce cas la Loi du Prix Unique permet de caractériser la fixité du taux de change comme étant une condition nécessaire de premier rang. Cette condition de premier ordre est non suffisante pour justifier de la soutenabilité et durabilité d'une zone. La fixité des monnaies est la deuxième condition retenue. La monnaie unique devient alors un choix rationnel qui se justifie par les avantages qu'elle procure aux pays qui l'adoptent
Ome of the West African countries have adopted the CFA Franc (Franc of African Financial Communities) as their currency in 1939. These countries hence form a monetary zone. The devaluation of the French CFA in 1994 marked the passage from an automatic convertibility to a partial convertibility. It seems legitimate to consider the optimality of the West-African currency area - especially in a context where the Euro zone itself faces difficulties.This thesis aims to identify whether this area is indeed an optimal currency area as defined by MUNDELL in 1961. The object of study raised here will focus more particularly on the analysis of the feasibility of an OCA (Optimum currency area) and on the passage to sustainability criteria. The primary criteria of an OCA -- as determined by the founding authors in the literature of the 1960s and 1970s on the issue, MUNDELL being the main contributor (1961). This study however does not restrict itself solely to the definition given by MUNDELL, even though his theory applies rightly to countries which are candidates to entry into the union. In this case, the Law of one Price (Loop) can characterize the fixity of the exchange rate as a primary necessary condition. This proviso however is not sufficient to justify the sustainability and durability of an area. In case this latter condition is not met, the other condition is the fixity of currencies. The unique currency then becomes a rational choice which is justified by the advantages it procures countries which adopt it

In recent years, scholarly attention on the complementary role of monetary integration to further economic integration in developing countries has tended to emphasise the direct and indirect benefits of 'limited monetary integration' while neglecting considerations of those benefits likely to accrue from adopting a common currency or fixed rates of exchange between their national currencies. However, the decision by the Heads of State and Government of the 16 members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in May 1983 requesting a study of proposals leading to the creation of a single ECOWAS monetary zone has given a new scope and dimension of interest in the economics of common currencies. The West African countries in their efforts to integrate and achieve higher growth and development are increasingly frustrated by a number of internal and external factors including their dependent, disintegrated and inefficient patterns of domestic production, trade and currency systems, in particular, the continuing weakness and increasing precariousness of their national currencies, and a succession of global monetary and financial crises. These constraints, together with the payments and adjustment problems they have occasioned, and the relative unsuccessful experiences in currency management, payments and exchange restrictions within the West African Clearing House (WACH) and the exclusively francophone West African Monetary Union (WAMU or UMOA), have created a need for extending and deepening the scope for monetary and economic cooperation in the region. The Study advocates principally an all-embracing monetary union by means of a common currency as a strategic catalyst and timely element of realism that would create an impulse for national development and regional economic integration. Using basic propositions concerning aspects of monetary integration, stressing in particular the foundations of optimum currency areas, the Study tries to present a comprehensive and analytic discussion of the feasibility, processes, beneficial effects and constraints involved in achieving currency unification in the broader setting of West Africa's disparate economic and socio-political developments.

La formation d'une union monétaire prive les États membres de l'utilisation unilatérale de l'outil monétaire. Dès lors, une orientation efficace des politiques économiques s'impose à travers (i) une hiérarchisation des cibles macroéconomiques, (ii) une identification des instruments appropriés et (iii) une mise en œuvre adaptée. Cette thèse fournit des réponses à cette orientation afin d'assurer une plus grande efficacité des politiques économiques à travers une analyse théorique et empirique appliquée au cas de l'UEMOA qui constitue un laboratoire exemplaire d'analyse des problématiques économiques en union monétaire
The creation of a monetary union deprives the member States of the unilateral use of the monetary instrument. Therefore, an effective orientation of economic policies is required through (i) a hierarchy of macroeconomic targets, (ii) identification of appropriate instruments, and (iii) appropriate implementation. This PhD thesis provides answers to this orientation in order to ensure greater effectiveness of economic policies through a theoretical and empirical analysis applied to the case of the WAEMU which constitutes a singular analytical laboratory through which to study the economic policy of a monetary union

The purpose of this paper has been to investigate the monetary policy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), in terms of a Taylor rule based approach to their use of their interest rate. The evaluation of the different rules was based on both in-sample and out-of-sample forecast errors. Few significant or consistent influences from the variables proposed by the rules can be established, which might suggest that the bank operates primarily under a discretionary framework rather than a rule. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the European Central Bank interest rate (ECB-rate) does not exclusively drive the Central Bank of West African States interest rate (BCEAO-rate), which suggests that they indeed do retain some independence of monetary policy to respond to domestic variables as proposed by earlier research, despite having a fixed exchange rate. These results put into question the credibility of the BCEAO in attaining their stated primary goal of price stability, as there seems to be no significant or consistent response to it in the setting of their interest rate, despite a suggested ability to react to it. This can be the cause of the current high volatility of inflation in the area and give rise to future volatility and instability as well.

The thesis takes as its point of departure the "long-run monetary union" between France and fifteen French-speaking African countries to provide insights into how the rules, mechanisms and practices underlying the monetary dependence of these African states operate. The main objective of the study is to contribute towards a better understanding of the institutions and principles governing the CFA franc zone with the intention of helping policy-makers to take optimal decisions.

A well-designed monetary policy could generate employment and pro-poor growth. But designing and administering a good policy will depend on the objective of policy designers. In principle, monetary authorities could choose between a fixed exchange regime and a flexible exchange regime. Of this, the above African countries adopted a managed regime with France since 1945. In this study, I examine the relationship between monetary autonomy and poverty reduction in the Franc Zone. The discussion focused on the impact of monetary independence on poverty incidence and poverty gap in the fifteen African nations.

I utilized two OLS model equations. The functions were estimated using data from a panel of 14 countries (the exception being Equatorial Guinea because insufficient data were available) in the CFA franc zone and covering the 1984-2011 period. Seven predictor variables were forced into the models. With regard to the findings, only four of them such as inflation and, more importantly, credit to private sector, centralization rate, exchange rate and gross national savings are important to headcount index and the depth of poverty reduction in the CFA franc zone.The results therefore suggest that monetary sovereignty measured by the specified variables is a driving force for poverty reduction in the CFA franc zone.

Cette thèse a pour but d'analyser l'impact de la création de l'Union économique et monétaire Ouest africaine (UEMOA), un exemple d'accord commercial régional (ACR) sur la dynamique du commerce et du développement au sein de cet espace. Elle analyse le processus de convergence réelle et examine les possibilités de renforcement du processus d'intégration économique. Le premier chapitre s'intéresse à l'impact du processus d'intégration sur la réduction des disparités de revenu par tête entre les pays membres. Mesuré par l'écart-type du PIB par tête à prix constant de 2005, les analyses ont révélé que les pays de l'UEMOA font l'expérience d'une convergence réelle entre 1970 et 2010. Cependant, selon nos analyses, la création de l'UEMOA n'a pas amélioré significativement les conditions de vie dans les pays membres. L'idée qui est exprimée dans ce premier chapitre est qu'un ACR qui réunit des partenaires plus ou moins égaux et vise non pas seulement à promouvoir le commerce intrinsèque, mais aussi et surtout l'intégration et le développement, peut être un complément utile pour le multilatéralisme en ce sens qu'il permet d'en corriger les inefficiences et à amortir ses chocs. Par contre, certains ACR peuvent constituer de graves menaces pour le système commercial multilatéral à partir du moment où ils génèrent des déséquilibres et renforcent les inégalités entre ceux qui les signent. C'est le cas de nombreux ACR impliquant des pays en développement et des pays développés. Le deuxième chapitre s'intéresse à un tel exemple d'ACR et propose une stratégie pour réduire les effets négatifs et permettre aux pays en développement de bénéficier des avantages du libre-échange. L'analyse est faite sur les implications macroéconomiques des Accords de partenariat économique (APE) entre les pays e l'Union européenne et ceux de l'Afrique des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP). Nous montrons, à partir des données de la Côte d'Ivoire, qu'avec des dépenses publiques productives, les pays en développement peuvent réduire les effets négatifs de court terme des APE. Les économies en développement sont si petites et trop faibles face à la concurrence étrangère qu'elles mettent en place des politiques protectionnistes comme l'instauration d'un droit de douane sur les importations. C'est l'exemple du tarif extérieur commun imposé par l'UEMOA sur les importations en provenance d'un pays tiers. Le chapitre trois de cette thèse propose un modèle DGSE simple permettant d'analyser les impacts macroéconomiques de cette modification de la structure tarifaire. Il ressort que l'effet net d'un droit de douane est la réduction des principales composantes de la demande domestique et une baisse d'utilité des consommateurs. L'analyse montre que la dynamique de moyen et long terme ainsi que la réaction instantanée de ces composantes dépendent de l'élasticité de substitution entre les variétés des biens importés
This thesis aims to analyze the impact of the creation of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), a regional trade agreements (RTAs) example on the dynamics of trade and development in this area. It analyzes the process of real convergence and examines opportunities to strengthen the integration process. The first chapter focuses on the impact of integration on reducing disparities in per capita income between member countries. Measured by the standard deviation of per capita GDP at constant prices of 2005, these analyzes revealed that the WAEMU countries are experiencing a real convergence between 1970 and 2010. However, according to our analysis, the creation of teh WAEMU has not significantly improved living conditions in memeber countries. The idea expressed in the first chapter is a regional trade agreements (RTAs) which brings together more or less equal partners and aims not only to promote trade themselves, but also and especially the integration and developemnt, may be a useful adjunct for multilateralism in the sense that it allows to correct inefficiencies and absorb its impact. On the other side, some RTAs can pose serious threats to the multilateral trading system from the moment they generate imbalances and reinforce inequalities between those who sign them. This is the case of many RTAs involving developing and developed countries. The second chapter focuses on one example of this type of RTAs and proposes a strategy to reduce the negative effects and to enable developing countries to reap the benefits of free trade. The analysis is done on the macroeconomic implications of economic partnership agreements(EPAs) between the countries of the European Union and those of the African Caribbean and Pacific. We show, using data from Côte d'Ivoire that, with productive public spending, developing countries can reudce the negative effects of short-term EPA. Developing countries are so small and too weak to cope with foreign competition that they implement protectionist policies such as the introduction of a tariff on imports. This is the case of the common external tariff imposed by the WAEMU imports from third countries. Chapter three of this tesis proposes a simple DGSE model, to assess macroeconomic impacts of this change in tariff structure. It appears that the net effect of a tariff reduction is the decrease of the main components of domestic demand and a lower level of consumer utility. The analysis shows that the dynamics of medium and long term as well as the instantaneous reaction of theses components depend on the elasticity of substitution between varieties of imported goods

Cette thèse est articulée autour de deux questions centrales visant à expliquer pourquoi et comment devrait être organisée la Complémentarité entre les Banques et les institutions spécialisées dans la Microfinance (CBM), afin de financer efficacement le développement dans les pays de l’UEMOA : l’Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine. Les aspects bancaires de la théorie de rattrapage économique de Gerschenkron sont adaptés au contexte de la prépondérance de l’économie informelle dans l’UEMOA. L’analyse empirique montre, quant à elle, que les secteurs bancaires et microfinanciers de l’UEMOA sont respectivement réfractaires et peu performants - en termes de rentabilité et d’impact social - pour l’autonomisation du processus de CBM. Relativement à la mise en oeuvre de la CBM, le cadre néoinstitutionnaliste de l’hybridité de la firme est mobilisé en vue d’intégrer et d’expliciter le rôle de l’autorité publique vis-à-vis des acteurs financiers privés, dont ceux du « mobile banking ». Par ailleurs, les « best practices » internationales dans la microfinance servent également de références empiriques et typologiques aux pays de l’UEMOA, en vue d’une coordination publique indirecte ou directe de la CBM
This thesis is based on two central questions whose purpose is to explain why and how the institutional complementarity should be organized between banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to effectively finance the development process of WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union) countries. The banking aspects of Gerschenkron’s catch-up theory are adapted to the large informal context of the WAEMU economies. At empirical level, the independent and private processes of Complementarity between Banks and Microfinance institutions (CBM) are scarce in WAEMU as long as banks avoid risks associated with adaptation to microfinance customers, and MFIs are not efficient for infrastructure modernization and expansion. Thus, to implement CBM processes, the neo-institutionalist framework of hybridity of the firm and the international best practices in microfinance are mobilized in order to clarify the role of public authorities towards private financial actors, including the mobile banking operators

La présente thèse vise à décrire et analyser l’évolution ambigüe du rapport Souveraineté-Intégration dans les cadres européen et africain. A cet effet, elle révèle qu’un tel rapport est part d’un antagonisme de principe entre Souveraineté et Intégration mais débouche cependant sur des réalités différentes qui sont fonction du contexte précis de mise en application de cette relation. En effet, si au départ, on peut noter une certaine convergence de vue en Europe et en Afrique sur la nature antagonique des rapports entre Souveraineté et Intégration ; à l’arrivée, la pratique de l’intégration ne semble pas avoir conduit aux mêmes effets quant au sort de la souveraineté étatique dans les cadres européen et africain. En réalité, alors que la souveraineté de l’Etat a été fortement amoindrie par l’intégration dans l’UE, confirmant ainsi largement leur antagonisme de départ ; du côté africain, cette hypothèse initiale d’antagonisme a plutôt été compromise par la pratique car dans l’UEMOA et l’OHADA, l’opposition entre souveraineté et intégration s’est avérée largement ineffective
This thesis aims to describe and analyze the ambiguous evolution of the Sovereignty-Integration report in the European and African frameworks. To this end, it reveals that such a relation started from an antagonism of principle between Sovereignty and Integration but nevertheless leads to different realities that depend on the precise context of the application of this relation. Indeed, while at the outset one can note a certain convergence of view in Europe and in Africa on the antagonistic nature of the relations between Sovereignty and Integration; the practice of integration seems to have led to contradictory effects on the fate of state sovereignty in the European and African frameworks. In facts, whereas sovereignty of States has been greatly diminished by integration in the EU, thus largely confirming their initial antagonism ; on the African side, this initial hypothesis of antagonism has rather been compromised by practice because in UEMOA and OHADA, the opposition between sovereignty and integration has proved largely ineffective

Les États ouest-africains ont fait de l’intégration économique la voie privilégiée pour relever le défi du développement économique dans un contexte international de plus en plus concurrentiel. Ainsi, par le biais d’organisations régionale et sous régionale, la protection du libre jeu de la concurrence est devenue un enjeu communautaire. L’intégration économique régionale ouest-africaine a donc été saisie par le droit de la concurrence. De ce fait, on assiste à l’émergence de droits régionaux de la concurrence au sein de l’Union économique et monétaire ouest africaine (UEMOA) et de la Communauté économique des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO). Chacune de ces organisations a donc mis en place un droit de la concurrence dans son espace économique. Il en résulte, vu la composition de l’UEMOA et de la CEDEAO, que ces droits communautaires ont vocation à s’appliquer aux États membres de l’Union qui font également partie de la Communauté. Cette particularité de la coexistence de ces règles communautaires de la concurrence en Afrique de l’Ouest méritait qu’on s’y attarde afin d’évaluer leur application, d’analyser l’effectivité et l’efficacité de ces droits. Cette étude comparative s’est attachée à mettre en exergue ce que renferment ces droits, à relever leurs spécificités, tout en mettant en lumière leurs insuffisances. Il apparaît nécessaire de repenser, voire de réformer certains aspects de ces droits afin d’améliorer leurs applications, gage d’une meilleure protection de la libre concurrence en Afrique de l’Ouest
West African states have made economic integration the preferred way to deal with the challenge of economic development in an increasingly competitive international context. Thus, through regional and subregional organizations, the protection of the free movement of competition has become a community issue.West African regional economic integration has therefore been seized by competition law. From this, we note emerging competition rights in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Each of these organizations has therefore put in place a competition law in its economic area. As a result, given the composition of UEMOA and ECOWAS, these Community rights are intended to be applied to the Member States of the Union which are also part of the Community. The features of the coexistence of these Community competition law in West Africa deserved to be examined in order to evaluate their application, to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of these rights. This comparative study intends to highlight the contain of these rights, reveal their specificities, while showing their lacks. It’s necessary to rethink or even reform some aspects of these rights to improve their applications, basis for a better protection of free competition in West Africa

Le problème de la dégradation de l’environnement n’est plus aujourd’hui celui de la rédaction de nouvelles conventions, même si tous les domaines ne sont pas encore couverts par le droit, mais bel et bien celui de l’effectivité et de la mise en application des normes en vigueur. Le plus souvent le droit existe mais il est inappliqué ou mal appliqué. Ceci soulève deux difficultés : l’une relative à la mise en œuvre du droit et, l’autre portant sur le contrôle de sa bonne application. Dans ce contexte, le continent africain ne peut œuvrer à son unité et son développement économique sans se soucier du changement climatique notamment dû aux gaz à effet de serre et de la destruction du milieu marin. Par ailleurs, l’Organisation pour l’harmonisation en Afrique de droit des affaires (OHADA) doit permettre à l’Afrique de progresser et d’œuvrer à la responsabilisation des entreprises en matière de protection de l’environnement et du climat. Face à ce vide juridique, l’OHADA devrait s’intéresser dans un proche avenir à l’adoption d’un acte uniforme relatif à la Responsabilité sociale et environnementale. La mise en œuvre des politiques environnementales et du droit qui en résulte nécessite une véritable révolution culturelle. Ainsi, ce sont les jeunes générations qui doivent recevoir une éducation adaptée sur les nouveaux enjeux écologiques. Si les principes généraux du droit de l’environnement contribuent de manière importante au développement de la soft law en droit international, il est plus étonnant de constater que le phénomène prend une importance croissante en droit interne. Au-delà des aspects juridiques formels, la mise en œuvre des conventions régionales imposera de relever d’autres défis, au premier rang desquels figure le renforcement des capacités institutionnelles des autorités nationales à concilier les impératifs économiques, sociaux et environnementaux
The problem of environmental deterioration is not linked to the draft of new agreements anymore, even though not all fields are covered so far by the existing law, but to the efficiency of the norms in effect. Most often, law exists, but is badly applied or not applied at all. This leads to two problems: first, the implementation of law, and second, the control of its application. In this context, the African continent cannot achieve its unity and its economic development without caring of the sword of Damocles which is the global warming caused by greenhouse gases and environmental destruction. Furthermore, the OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization in Africa of Business Law) should allow Africa to significantly advance on the subject of the companies’ responsible behaviour in terms of environmental and climate protection. In order to fill this gap, the OHADA should adopt in the near future a Uniform Act concerning social and environmental responsibility. The implementation of environmental policies and the application of the norms arising from them require a cultural revolution. The young generations should receive an education which is adapted to the new ecological challenges. The principles contribute in an important way to the development of the soft law in international law, but it is even more surprising that this phenomenon is more and more important in national law. Beyond formal legal aspects, the implementation of regional agreements will be confronted to further challenges: first of all, the reinforcement of the national institutional authorities’ capacity to reconcile economic, social and environmental imperatives

L'architecture, la mise en place et la pétrogénèse du Massif du Kogue (Poli, Nord Cameroun) s'intègrent dans l'évolution tectonique et plutonique de la zone mobile panafricaine du Nord Cameroun. Intrusion dans les formations métamorphiques de Poli, le complexe plutonique de Kogue est formé de deux unités constituées par deux lignées de différenciation magmatique, d'affinité calco-alcaline. L'agencement et l'analyse des trajectoires des fluidalités planaires soulignent une mise en place syntectonique sous forme de dome diapir dans un couloir de cisaillement. L'état rhéologique des magmas granitique et dioritique, dans les zones de brèches magmatiques montre que ceux-ci sont contemporains et ont une mise en place synchrone

Yes
This paper examines real effective exchange rate (REER) responses to shocks in exchange rate determinants for the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) over the period 1980–2015. The analysis is based on a country-by-country VECM, and oil price, supply and demand shocks are identified using long run restrictions in a structural VAR model. We report significant differences in the response of REER to real oil price, productivity (supply) and demand preference shocks across these economies. In addition the relative contribution of these shocks to REER movements in the short and long run appears to be different across economies. Our findings suggest that the WAMZ countries are structurally different, and asymmetric shocks with inadequate adjustment mechanisms imply that a monetary union would be costly.

碩士
國立成功大學
財務金融研究所
105
Foreign direct investment is nowadays seen as an important factor of growing the economy. In fact, it brings to a country not only the needed capital, but also advanced technology, employment, taxes for government etc. Mindful of its importance, in 1994, eight west African countries have decided to come together in creating an economic and monetary union which could help to prime their development by attracting more foreign capital. Regarding its importance for such countries where the national savings are low, it is necessary to investigate what are the main factors that make this union attractive to foreign investors. Hence, this thesis analyzes the determinants of foreign direct investments in the west African economic and monetary union between 1996 and 2015. In that purpose, thirteen variables have been identified as possible determinants and data have been collected from the world bank, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Global Economy databases to build an empirical model. The study is based on panel data analysis since we aim to identify FDI’s determinants both on the spatial and temporal dimensions. And among the different models to tackle the panel analysis, the random effect model is used because heterogeneity specification test suggests that this model is more suitable for our study. From our empirical results, it turns out that only the market growth is not statistically significant. FDI inflow is sensitive to all the other variables. It also shows that the relationship between FDI, inflation and natural resources is a weak (10% significance level)

Student Number : 0414488P - MA research report - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities
This study aims at highlighting the politics of international cooperation with respect to monetary integration in West Africa. Monetary integration was envisaged in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) when the organization was formed in 1975. Two decades after its formation, it was realized by member states that limited success had been achieved as far as the objectives of the organization were concerned. As a result, the ECOWAS Treaty was revised and significant decisions were made in 1993, and the call for a monetary union was reiterated. Factors which could have worked against the formation of a monetary union prior to 1993 changed in favour of monetary cooperation. The adoption of the Euro in the European Union and more especially by France, weakened the symbolic link of the CFA Franc zone to France, and to an extent reduced the French stigma, which had hitherto discouraged Anglophone countries from participating in an expanded monetary union with their Francophone counterparts. The democratic transition of Nigeria and the accession to power of a new leader who has shown commitment to regional integration, improved cooperation arrangements among ECOWAS states in working towards the formalization of a monetary union. The transformation from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU) and its strategy of creating a common African currency as well as the emergence of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) provided extra motivations for African states to show more commitment towards integration. Based on the above factors, several positive steps have been taken towards the formalization of a monetary union in the community. The West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) was realized in 2000 and more importantly, the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) was created and started operating in the same year. The Institute was created to prepare the groundwork for the creation of the West African Central Bank. The above mentioned factors increased the prospects of forming a monetary union in the community but several challenges still remain. First there is the problem of the asymmetric nature of the economies in the region. Secondly, political instability is a major factor that militates against the formation of such a union. Domestic political instability in Nigeria, which is heightened by ethnic and religious differences as well as the asymmetric nature of her economy in relation to those of other states in the region, makes it difficult for a monetary union to revolve around her. This research project is centered on Treaties, statistical analysis, theories and concepts and literature from economic and financial institutions. We conclude by stating that the analysis here reflects the situation on the ground and provide lessons to member states of the community, prospects for monetary integration would be further improved if member states work coherently to overcome such challenges.

The thesis examines the comprehensive relationship between all aspects of financial liberalisation and economic growth in three countries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Employing ARDL bounds test approach and real GDP per capita as growth indicator; the thesis finds support in favour of the McKinnon-Shaw hypothesis but also finds that the increases in the subsequent savings and investments have not been transmitted into economic growth in two of the studied countries. Moreover, the thesis also finds that stock market developments have negligible or negative impact on economic growth in two of the selected countries. The thesis concludes that in most cases, it is not financial liberalisation polices that affect economic growth in the selected ECOWAS countries, but rather increase in the productivity of labour, increase in the credit to the private sector, increase in foreign direct investments, increase in the capital stock and increase in government expenditure contrary to expectations. Interestingly, the thesis also finds that export has only negative effect on economic growth in all the selected ECOWAS countries. The thesis therefore, recommends that long-term export diversification programmes be implemented in the ECOWAS regions whilst further investigation is carried on the issue.
Economic Sciences
D. Litt et Phil. (Economics)