IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/drm/wpaper/2012-34.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Revisiting the theory of optimum currency areas: Is the CFA franc zone sustainable?

Author

Listed:
  • Cécile Couharde
  • Issiaka Coulibaly
  • David Guerreiro
  • Valérie Mignon

Abstract

This paper aims at explaining why the CFA countries have successfully maintained a currency union for several decades, despite failing to meet many of optimum currency area criteria. We suggest that the CFA zone, while not optimal, has been at least sustainable. We test this sustainability hypothesis by relying on the Behavioral Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) approach. In particular, we assess and compare the convergence process of real exchange rates towards equilibrium for the CFA zone countries and a sample of other sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Our findings evidence that internal and external balances have been fostered and adjustments facilitated in the CFA zone as a whole—compared to other SSA countries—as well as in each of its member countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Cécile Couharde & Issiaka Coulibaly & David Guerreiro & Valérie Mignon, 2012. "Revisiting the theory of optimum currency areas: Is the CFA franc zone sustainable?," EconomiX Working Papers 2012-34, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    • Handle: RePEc:drm:wpaper:2012-34
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://economix.fr/pdf/dt/2012/WP_EcoX_2012-34.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cécile Couharde & Issiaka Coulibaly & Olivier Damette, 2011. "Misalignments and Dynamics of Real Exchange Rates in the CFA Franc Zone," EconomiX Working Papers 2011-28, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    2. Yasser Abdih & Charalambos Tsangarides, 2010. "FEER for the CFA franc," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(16), pages 2009-2029.
    3. Cashin, Paul & Cespedes, Luis F. & Sahay, Ratna, 2004. "Commodity currencies and the real exchange rate," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 239-268, October.
    4. Chrysost BANGAKE, 2007. "Exchange Rate Volatility and Optimum Currency Area Index : Evidence from Africa," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 603, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    5. Robert Barro & Silvana Tenreyro, 2007. "Economic Effects Of Currency Unions," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 45(1), pages 1-23, January.
    6. Chrysost Bangaké, 2008. "Exchange Rate Volatility and Optimum Currency Area: Evidence from Africa," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 6(12), pages 1-10.
    7. Simeon Coleman, 2008. "Estimating Equilibrium Real Exchange Rates in the Franc Zone," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 17(4), pages 600-634, August.
    8. Virginie Coudert & Cécile Couharde & Valérie Mignon, 2013. "On Currency Misalignments within the Euro Area," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 35-48, February.
    9. Agnès Bénassy‐Quéré & Maylis Coupet, 2005. "On the Adequacy of Monetary Arrangements in Sub‐Saharan Africa," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 349-373, March.
    10. Kenneth Rogoff, 1996. "The Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 647-668, June.
    11. David Fielding & Kevin Lee & Kalvinder Shields, 2012. "Does one size fit all? Modelling macroeconomic linkages in the West African Economic and Monetary Union," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 45-70, February.
    12. Coleman, Simeon, 2010. "Inflation persistence in the Franc zone: Evidence from disaggregated prices," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 426-442, March.
    13. Elbadawi, Ibrahim & Majd, Nader, 1996. "Adjustment and economic performance under a fixed exchange rate: A comparative analysis of the CFA zone," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 939-951, May.
    14. Devarajan, Shantayanan & Rodrik, Dani, 1991. "Do the Benefits of Exchange Rates Outweigh Their Cost? The Franc Zone in Africa," CEPR Discussion Papers 561, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Anindya Banerjee, 1999. "Panel Data Unit Roots and Cointegration: An Overview," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(S1), pages 607-629, November.
    16. Qureshi, Mahvash Saeed & Tsangarides, Charalambos G., 2012. "Hard or Soft Pegs? Choice of Exchange Rate Regime and Trade in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 667-680.
    17. Paul Grauwe, 1996. "The economics of convergence: Towards monetary union in Europe," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 132(1), pages 1-27, March.
    18. Shantayanan Devarajan & Dani Rodrik, 1991. "Do the Benefits of Fixed Exchange Rates Outweigh Their Costs? The Franc Zone in Africa," NBER Working Papers 3727, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Alberto Alesina & Robert J. Barro, 2002. "Currency Unions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(2), pages 409-436.
    20. Christophe Hurlin & Valérie Mignon, 2007. "Second Generation Panel Unit Root Tests," Working Papers halshs-00159842, HAL.
    21. Paul De Grauwe, 2014. "The Governance of a Fragile Eurozone," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Exchange Rates and Global Financial Policies, chapter 12, pages 297-320, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    22. Cheung, Yin-Wong & Lai, Kon S., 2008. "Nominal exchange rate flexibility and real exchange rate adjustment: New evidence from dual exchange rates in developing countries," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 415-434, August.
    23. Lane, Philip R. & Milesi-Ferretti, Gian Maria, 2007. "The external wealth of nations mark II: Revised and extended estimates of foreign assets and liabilities, 1970-2004," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 223-250, November.
    24. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2021. "General diagnostic tests for cross-sectional dependence in panels," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 13-50, January.
    25. Basher, Syed A. & Westerlund, Joakim, 2009. "Panel cointegration and the monetary exchange rate model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 506-513, March.
    26. Fielding, David & Shields, Kalvinder, 2001. "Modelling macroeconomic shocks in the CFA Franc Zone," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 199-223, October.
    27. Raimundo Soto & Ibrahim A. Elbadawi, 2007. "Theory and Empirics of Real Exchange Rates in Developing Countries," Documentos de Trabajo 324, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    28. Charalambos Tsangarides & Pierre Ewenczyk & Michal Hulej & Mahvash Saeed Qureshi, 2009. "Are Africa's Currency Unions Good for Trade?," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 56(4), pages 876-918, November.
    29. Virginie Coudert & Cécile Couharde & Valérie Mignon, 2011. "Does Euro or Dollar Pegging Impact the Real Exchange Rate? The Case of Oil and Commodity Currencies," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(9), pages 1557-1592, September.
    30. Josep Lluís Carrion-i-Silvestre & Tomás del Barrio-Castro & Enrique López-Bazo, 2005. "Breaking the panels: An application to the GDP per capita," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 8(2), pages 159-175, July.
    31. Lane, Philip & Milesi-Ferretti, Gian Maria, "undated". "External Wealth of Nations," Instructional Stata datasets for econometrics extwealth, Boston College Department of Economics.
    32. Zhao, Xiaodan & Kim, Yoonbai, 2009. "Is the CFA Franc Zone an Optimum Currency Area?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 1877-1886, December.
    33. George Tavlas, 1994. "The theory of monetary integration," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 211-230, March.
    34. Devarajan, Shantayanan & de Melo, Jaime, 1990. "Membership in the CFA zone : Odyssean journey or Trojan horse?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 482, The World Bank.
    35. Simeon Coleman, 2004. "An Aggregate View of Macroeconomic Shocks in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comparative Study Using Innovation Accounting," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2004-09, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    36. Joakim Westerlund, 2005. "New Simple Tests for Panel Cointegration," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 297-316.
    37. De Grauwe, Paul, 1996. "Monetary union and convergence economics," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-5), pages 1091-1101, April.
    38. John Williamson, 1994. "Estimating Equilibrium Exchange Rates," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 17, October.
    39. Etienne B. Yehoue, 2006. "The CFA Arrangements: More Than Just an Aid Substitute?," Economie Internationale, CEPII research center, issue 107, pages 107-133.
    40. Banerjee, Anindya, 1999. "Panel Data Unit Roots and Cointegration: An Overview," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(0), pages 607-629, Special I.
    41. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:6:y:2008:i:12:p:1-10 is not listed on IDEAS
    42. Mr. Michel Galy & Mr. Michael T. Hadjimichael, 1997. "The CFA Franc Zone and the EMU," IMF Working Papers 1997/156, International Monetary Fund.
    43. Broda, Christian, 2004. "Terms of trade and exchange rate regimes in developing countries," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 31-58, May.
    44. C. A. E. Goodhart, 1995. "The Political Economy of Monetary Union (1995)," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Central Bank and the Financial System, chapter 8, pages 156-202, Palgrave Macmillan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Blaise Gnimassoun, 2015. "Exchange rate misalignments and the external balance under a pegged currency system," Working Papers hal-04141421, HAL.
    2. Nchofoung, Tii N., 2022. "Trade shocks and labour market resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does the franc zone response differently?," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 161-174.
    3. Dieudonné Mignamissi, 2018. "Monnaie unique et intégration par le marché en Afrique: le cas de la CEEAC et de la CEDEAO," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 30(1), pages 71-85, March.
    4. Coudert, Virginie & Couharde, Cécile & Grekou, Carl & Mignon, Valérie, 2020. "Heterogeneity within the euro area: New insights into an old story," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 428-444.
    5. Alexandre Henry, 2019. "Monetary Union, Competitiveness and Raw Commodity Dependence: Insights from Africa," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 61(2), pages 285-301, June.
    6. Daniel Simons & Rosmy Jean Louis, 2018. "Monetary union in West Africa and business cycles synchronicity: New evidence," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(10), pages 2828-2848, October.
    7. Mignamissi, Dieudonné, 2020. "The CFA Franc effect on trade," MPRA Paper 99018, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Blaise Gnimassoun, 2017. "Exchange rate misalignments and the external balance under a pegged currency system," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(5), pages 949-974, November.
    9. Mervan Selçuk & Şakir Görmüş, 2022. "Is a Monetary Union Feasible for D-8 Countries? An Examination in The Framework of The Optimum Currency Area," Journal of Economic Policy Researches, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 75-101, January.
    10. Couharde, Cécile & Coulibaly, Issiaka & Damette, Olivier, 2013. "Anchor currency and real exchange rate dynamics in the CFA Franc zone," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 722-732.
    11. Coulibaly, Issiaka & Gnimassoun, Blaise, 2013. "Optimality of a monetary union: New evidence from exchange rate misalignments in West Africa," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 463-482.
    12. Dieudonné Mignamissi, 2021. "Coûts/gains commerciaux de l'intégration monétaire dans la Zone Franc africaine: Une analyse à partir de 5 scenarii," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(1), pages 180-192, March.
    13. Issiaka Coulibaly & Blaise Gnimassoun, 2013. "Current account sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does the exchange rate regime matter?," Working Papers hal-04141160, HAL.
    14. Gnimassoun, Blaise & Coulibaly, Issiaka, 2014. "Current account sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does the exchange rate regime matter?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 208-226.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Coulibaly, Issiaka & Gnimassoun, Blaise, 2013. "Optimality of a monetary union: New evidence from exchange rate misalignments in West Africa," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 463-482.
    2. Couharde, Cécile & Coulibaly, Issiaka & Damette, Olivier, 2013. "Anchor currency and real exchange rate dynamics in the CFA Franc zone," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 722-732.
    3. Issiaka Coulibaly & Blaise Gnimassoun, 2012. "Optimality of a monetary union : New evidence from exchange rate misalignments in West Africa," Working Papers hal-04141049, HAL.
    4. Qureshi, Mahvash Saeed & Tsangarides, Charalambos G., 2012. "Hard or Soft Pegs? Choice of Exchange Rate Regime and Trade in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 667-680.
    5. Cécile Couharde & Issiaka Coulibaly & Olivier Damette, 2011. "Misalignments and Dynamics of Real Exchange Rates in the CFA Franc Zone," EconomiX Working Papers 2011-28, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    6. Mahvash S Qureshi & Mr. Charalambos G Tsangarides, 2006. "What is Fuzzy About Clustering in West Africa?," IMF Working Papers 2006/090, International Monetary Fund.
    7. Issiaka Coulibaly & Blaise Gnimassoun, 2013. "Current account sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does the exchange rate regime matter?," Working Papers hal-04141160, HAL.
    8. Hamit-Haggar, Mahamat, 2016. "Clean energy-growth nexus in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from cross-sectionally dependent heterogeneous panel with structural breaks," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1237-1244.
    9. Parantap Basu & Yoseph Getachew, 2020. "Redistributive innovation policy, inequality, and efficiency," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(3), pages 532-554, June.
    10. Bodart, V. & Candelon, B. & Carpantier, J.-F., 2012. "Real exchanges rates in commodity producing countries: A reappraisal," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1482-1502.
    11. Marcel Schroder, 2013. "Should developing countries undervalue their currencies?," Departmental Working Papers 2013-12, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    12. Claire Giordano, 2021. "How frequent a BEER? Assessing the impact of data frequency on real exchange rate misalignment estimation," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(3), pages 365-404, July.
    13. Christian K. Tipoy & Marthinus C. Breitenbach & Mulatu F. Zerihun, 2017. "Equilibrium Exchange Rates and Misalignments: The Case of Homogenous Emerging Market Economies," Working Papers 201769, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    14. Magali Dauvin, 2013. "Energy prices and the real exchange rate of commodity-exporting countries," EconomiX Working Papers 2013-33, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    15. Comunale, Mariarosaria, 2018. "Current account and real effective exchange rate misalignments in Central Eastern EU countries: An update using the macroeconomic balance approach," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 414-436.
    16. Grekou, Carl, 2015. "Revisiting the nexus between currency misalignments and growth in the CFA Zone," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 142-154.
    17. Oliver Hossfeld, 2010. "Equilibrium Real Effective Exchange Rates and Real Exchange Rate Misalignments: Time Series vs. Panel Estimates," FIW Working Paper series 065, FIW.
    18. Gnimassoun, Blaise & Coulibaly, Issiaka, 2014. "Current account sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does the exchange rate regime matter?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 208-226.
    19. Cécile Couharde & Issiaka Coulibaly & Olivier Damette, 2012. "La dynamique d'ajustement des taux de change réels dans la zone franc CFA," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 63(3), pages 545-555.
    20. Tsangarides, Charalambos G. & Qureshi, Mahvash Saeed, 2008. "Monetary Union Membership in West Africa: A Cluster Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 1261-1279, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Equilibrium exchange rates; CFA zone; Optimum Currency Areas; currency union sustainability;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange
    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:drm:wpaper:2012-34. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Valerie Mignon (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/modemfr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.