Coordination des Politiques Economiques au Sein de la Zone UEMOA : Bilan et Perspectives

Abstract

The recent economic and financial crisis in the euro area seems to question the theoretical solutions to coordinate economic policies in monetary unions. In this paper, we adress the current system of economic policy coordination within the WAEMU during 1994-2010. Using game theory and econometric techniques, we analyze the prospects of this framework. Thus, the effects of the coordination of the Central Bank and the WAEMU Commission on key macroeconomic variables are analyzed and the effects of fiscal policy coordination on intermediate goals including budget deficits and inflation. It appears that a mechanism for coordinating policies to strengthen the foundations for institutional convergence to support economic growth in the long term and that clearly specifies the set of monetary and fiscal contracts between on one side the monetary authority and fiscal authorities of the other, is a must for the optimality of the effects of monetary and fiscal policy item