Stylized empirical facts about the correlation between the volume of international trade and exchange rate variability/uncertainty are at odds with the predictions of the simple open economy model. The present paper argues that this puzzle may be explained by drawing on the recent theoretical...

This paper analyzes the role of the nature of traded goods in the effect of the real exchange rate on the trade balance in West African Economy and Monetary Union countries. Empirically, the estimation of the parameters of a distributed lag autoregressive model using the technique of dynamic...

We examine the mean-reverting properties of real exchange rates, by comparing the unit root properties of a group of international real exchange rates with two groups of intra-national real exchange rates. Strikingly, we find that while the international real rates taken as a group appear...

We study the long-run relationship of real exchanges rates (RERs) among the ASEAN-5 countries by testing the theory of Generalized Purchasing Power Parity (G-PPP) from the new perspective of fractional cointegration. The long-run co-movements of the RERs are examined by applying a recent...

Identifying the fundamentals of the real exchange rate of the CFA franc in WAEMU is the main objective of this paper. To achieve this, we used panel data over a period from 1984 to 2014. The results obtained using the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) method show that investment, government spending,...

This study investigates the determinants of the trade balance in West African and Monetary Union (WAEMU) over the period 1975-2017. We employ the Mean Group (MG) estimator along with the grouped mean version of Dynamic OLS (DOLS) and Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) to deal with both endogeneity and...

There is increasing interest in regional trade, investment, and currency blocs, and in the optimal public policies for such blocs. There is also much managerial interest in the co-movement of exchange rates in a region. The Eastern Caribbean Currency Bloc is one of only three (and one of the...

In this paper we study the behavior of the real exchange rate of three American currencies relative to the U.S. dollar: the Canadian dollar, the Mexican peso and the Panamanian balboa. Our principal objective in doing so is to investigate the effects of alternative exchange-rate regimes,...

We apply the fundamentals equilibrium exchange rate (FEER) approach and the Johansen cointegration methodology to investigate the behavior of the real effective exchange rates of the two monetary unions of the CFA franc zone (CEMAC and WAEMU) vis-agrave;-vis their long-run equilibrium paths. For...

The optimal currency for a country is an important topic. While it is difficult to identify the best option overall, for all stakeholders and including political considerations, it is easier to answer the more limited question of the title: Which currency is best for business in a small country?...