The CFA franc zone has had one of the longest experiences with a fixed exchange rate for a convertible currency and regional integration of any group of developing countries. France, the anchor country, provides aid to support the zone. This paper asks whether the arrangements are more than just...

The study of the effects of exogenous shocks on the creation of added value aimed at showing the impact of those shocks on the gross domestic product as well as the effect of debt and public aid used by some governments as a solution to the effects of exogenous shocks. The study revealed a...

Two seemingly unconnected empirical results suggest an intriguing mechanism. First, economic integration helps harmonize prices internationally, with trade being the primary channel (Rogoff 1996, Goldberg and Knetter 1997). Second, monetary union may greatly increase the amount of trade among...