Exchange rate regimes and economic performance: Does CFA zone membership benefit their economies?

Coulibaly, Issiaka and Davis, Junior (2013): Exchange rate regimes and economic performance: Does CFA zone membership benefit their economies?

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the importance and impact of CFA zone membership by distinguishing between the effects of being in monetary union from those which arose from anchoring the CFA franc. Using de jure and de facto regime classification schemes and a sample of 35 SSA countries over the 1985-2009 period, our results show that the CFA zone membership has been beneficial in terms of inflation, while it has not resulted in a significant effect on growth. Finally, we evidence that greater fiscal discipline can be associated with peg regimes in SSA, but not necessarily with monetary union.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Exchange rate management, CFA, monetary zones
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C2 - Single Equation Models ; Single Variables > C23 - Panel Data Models ; Spatio-temporal Models; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E3 - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles > E31 - Price Level ; Inflation ; Deflation; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E6 - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook > E60 - General; F - International Economics > F3 - International Finance > F31 - Foreign Exchange

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