Drawing on the recent literature and experience on monetary integration in Europe, the paper examines the rationale for establishing regional currency unions in Western Africa. Despite dramatic economic, political and historical differences between the two regions, the analysis indicates that...

Could a West African monetary union (either of the non-CFA countries, or all ECOWAS members) be an effective ""agency of restraint"" on fiscal policies? We discuss how monetary union could affect fiscal discipline and the arguments for explicit fiscal restraints considered in the European...