The impact of the strong Euro on the real effective exchange rates of the two Francophone African CFA zones /
Ali Zafar.
- Washington, D. C : World Bank, 2005.
- 32p : ill. ; 27 cm.
- Policy research working papers ; no. 3751 .
Also available online. "The author estimates the degree of misalignment of the CFA franc since the introduction of the Euro in 1999. Using a relative purchasing power parity-based methodology, he develops a monthly panel time series data set for both the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) zone and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)zone to compute a trade-weighted real effective exchange rate indexed series from January 1999 to December 2004. The author's main finding is that the real effective exchange rate appreciated by close to 8 percent in UEMOA and 7 percent in CEMAC, influenced by volatility in the euro-dollar bilateral exchange rate and conservative monetary policies in the two zones, resulting in a partial loss of competitiveness in export markets. The lower appreciation in Central Africa can be explained by lower inflation in CEMAC than in UEMOA and by th