This paper assesses the impact of pegging the CFA franc to the euro - at a fixed parity - on real GDP per capita in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CAEMC) countries. Using a set of 35 annual country-level panel data...

The CFA franc devaluation on 11 January 1994 stands out as the most significant reform within the Franc Zone system since political independences of former African French colonies in 1960, yet a topic shrouded into profound taboo. So far, the economic literature has failed to draw any connection...

This paper investigates Original Sin in the West African Economic and Monetary Union in the framework of regional integration and cooperation initiatives. The phenomenon describes the inability of countries to borrow in their currency. The central hypothesis is that smaller South-South...

Francophone Africa has been dominated to date by the political, economic and cultural repercussions of France’s colonial rule. A major instrument to assert France's interests was the upkeep of a common monetary policy and currency, the CFA Franc. Although this has been increasingly resented by...

Africa is today the most important part of the Francophonie. French is an official or co-official language along with other languages in 21 African countries, all in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Since the end of colonialism and Cold War politics, changes in the Francophonie have been driven largely...

We study the effects of two dimensions of teacher quality, subject knowledge and didactic skills, on student learning in francophone Sub-Saharan Africa. We use data from an international large-scale assessment in 14 countries that include individual-level information on student achievement and...

We study the effects of two dimensions of teacher quality, subject knowledge and didactic skills, on student learning in francophone Sub-Saharan Africa. We use data from an international large-scale assessment in 14 countries that include individual-level information on student achievement and...

We develop a simple formal framework to clarify the trade-offs involved in the choice between a fixed and flexible exchange-rate system. We then apply the framework to the CFA Zone countries in Africa, which have maintained a fixed parity with the French Franc since independence. Thanks to the...

Comparisons of British and French colonialism in Africa have typically focused on institutions (e.g., directness of rule, forced labor, conscription) or the effect of those institutions on post-independence political reforms and development. Instead, this article focuses on colonial public...

As opposed to many other school inputs, textbooks have frequently been demonstrated to significantly foster student achievement. Using the rich data set provided by the 'Program on the Analysis of Education Systems' (PASEC) for five francophone, sub-Saharan African countries, this paper goes...

"L'efficacité économique de la gouvernance de l'État par le Droit en Afrique francophone renvoie à l'idée du rôle de l'État de droit dans le développement économique en Afrique francophone. L'État de droit est un État dans lequel le fonctionnement des pouvoirs publics est...

Guinea-Bissau is among the world's most unequal countries. Its use of the CFA currency, pegged to the euro and controlled by France, raises continuing concern . This paper investigates the impact of joining the C.F.A zone (1997) on Guinea-Bissau per capita GDP, fisheries capture, and rice...

How do states respond to political resistance? The standard repression or concession logic presumes that the state is strong enough to punish or co-opt dissent effectively. Instead, we argue that the state may disengage when it is weak. We show that colonial governments in French West Africa...

Colonial investments impacted long-run political and economic development, but we have little systematic evidence about their origins and spatial distribution. Combining novel data sources, I show that colonial investments were very unequally distributed within 16 British and French African...

This paper examines the growth-inflation nexus in Franc zone currency unions. It aims at estimating the inflation threshold above which additional inflationary pressures adversely affect economic expansion. It uses cointegration methods that are applied to data from 14 African countries from the...

Whereas the impact of Brexit on Anglophone Africa was a major issue in the controversial British discussions on the pros and cons of Brexit, possible repercussions on French-speaking Africa have been rarely mentioned up to now. Yet, the range of possible Brexit effect is impressive, including...

Whereas the impact of Brexit on Anglophone Africa was a major issue in the controversial British discussions on the pros and cons of Brexit, possible repercussions on French-speaking Africa have been rarely mentioned up to now. Yet, the range of possible Brexit effect is impressive, including...

We compare business cycle fluctuations in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries vis-à-vis the rest of the world. Our main results are as follows: (i) African economies stand out by their macroeconomic volatility, which is is reflected in the volatility of output and other macro variables; (ii)...

"Dans cet ouvrage, Yacouba Ndiaye, ancien directeur à Air Afrique, répond à cette lancinante question, à propos de la liquidation: que s'est passé avec Air Afrique? Lire cet ouvrage riche en enseignements permet de savoir ce qui a été fait, mais surtout ce qu'il ne faudra plus faire...

The CFA-zone is basically composed of two sub-zones, characterized by significant structural economic and political differences within and between its member countries: the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA) and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa...

This article examines the benefits of CFA zone's membership by estimating the effects of joining the CFA zone on GDP per capita and other macroeconomic fundamentals in Mali. Using the synthetic control method (SCM), we show that Mali's CFA membership has a positive effect on its income,...

The effects of organized labor on regime change in developing countries are not clear‐cut. Optimists argue that union agitation is conducive to both democratic transition and consolidation processes. Pessimists hold that unions will support any regime that is conducive to their demands....

Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Introduction -- 1. A Currency at the Service of the 'Colonial Pact' -- 2. The CFA System -- 3. Resistance and Reprisal -- 4. France in Command -- 5. At the Service of the Francafrique -- 6. An Obstacle to Development -- 7. An Unsustainable Status Quo -- Epilogue...

This paper deals with judicial departures in consolidating democracies. It investigates to what extent and under what conditions judges in those contexts are not able to decide on their departures themselves but are rather forced to leave due to pressure from the elected branches. We undertook a...

This paper analyzes the link between the exchange rate misalignments and the external balance under a pegged currency system focusing on the former French colonies of Africa (the CFA zone). Having discussed and chosen an appropriate analytical framework, it addresses the issue of model...

It seems natural to attribute to wage rigidity (stemming from highly distortionary labor policies) the over-valuation of the CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine) franc after the negative external shocks of the 1980s. Using a variety of data sources, the author assesses the actual rigidity of...

This paper estimates a gravity model of trade to evaluate the trade effects of the Euro on sectoral trade within the Euro Zone, the CFA Franc Zone and between the Eurozone and the CFA Franc Zone, when CFA countries acquired fixed rates against the non-francophone Eurozone members. The formation...