The distributional and disruptive effects of energy supply shocks are potentially large. We study the effectiveness of alternative fiscal responses in a two-country HANK model calibrated to the euro area. Subsidies can stabilize the domestic economy, but they are fiscally costly and generate...

In the Hellenistic era, there was widespread convergence to the Attic standard and a similar narrowing of coin types in terms of aesthetics. The competition between issuers resulted in an equilibrium in which improvements to the consistency and quality of money were sought after. This...

Based on original archival research, interviews, media sources and wide ranging academic literature, this study focuses on the European Parliament's leading and agenda-setting role in the process of European monetary integration. Important initiatives included the 1962 Van Campen Report on the...

This paper assesses the causal relationship between central bank interest rate, inflation and GDP growth in Central African countries using a new leading-lagging method over the period 1990-2019. The results show a short-term relationship between the three variables, with strong evidence of...

Since mid-2021, the euro-area economy has gone through several shocks, leading to the highest inflation since the creation of the European Monetary Union. A forceful and persistent response from the European Central Bank, grounded in the monetary policy framework it agreed in 2021 ahead of the...

The financial situation of households differs substantially across countries, but the implications of this heterogeneity are still vastly understudied. We examine the implications of this asymmetry for optimal monetary policy in a currency union. We build a two-country monetary union model with...

We investigate how the composition of expenditure shapes the transmission of monetary policy in a currency union. European Monetary Union data reveal three facts: (1) higher inequality countries have larger service expenditure shares; (2) monetary policy has a weaker output impact in these...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes domestic revenue mobilization (DRM) in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). DRM is critical for financing economic and social development and ensuring debt sustainability in WAEMU, especially in light of rising interest, high security...

This paper presents IMF staff report on common policies for member countries of West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Economic growth continues to be strong in the WAEMU. Inflation has fallen back to its target range, and recent improvements in regional external imbalances are...

This Selected Issues paper examines the impact of the energy transition (ET) and strategies to achieve it in the Easter Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). Reducing energy dependence in the ECCU entails improving energy efficiency and shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy (RE). This ET is...

This paper presents a detailed review report for the 2025 Discussion on Common Policies of Member Countries of the Easter Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). The currency union has provided a strong anchor for macroeconomic stability. The ECCU has achieved a strong rebound from successive adverse...

The rise of cryptocurrencies over the past decade has promised to challenge the dominance of fiat money systems and reshape monetary policy. However, recent developments, including market volatility and the collapse of key exchanges like FTX, have eroded public trust, raising skepticism of a...

The 1955-56 macroeconomic crisis is a central event in modern Irish history. Yet, despite this centrality, its causes are not clearly understood. In 1955-6, Ireland, which had previously followed British interest rates in lockstep as part of its fixed exchange with the latter, briefly...

The 1955-56 macroeconomic crisis is a central event in modern Irish history. Yet, despite this centrality, its causes are not clearly understood. In 1955-6, Ireland, which had previously followed British interest rates in lockstep as part of its fixed exchange with the latter, briefly...

Die Kohäsionspolitik in der Europäischen Union (EU) ist weithin als Instrument zur Förderung des Aufholprozesses akzeptiert, d.h. zur Unterstützung von Mitgliedstaaten mit einem niedrigeren Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) pro Kopf, um ein höheres Wirtschaftswachstum zu erzielen und so ähnlich...

This paper applies unsupervised machine-learning techniques to a set of nominal and industrial sector production variables to examine the convergence of European Monetary Union (EMU) member countries, focusing on macroeconomic and structural homogeneity. Our findings reveal distinct clusters of...

Digitalisation presents a significant challenge for the development of rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa, where basic infrastructure and public services are often lacking, the financial sector is dysfunctional, insecurity is widespread, climatic conditions are often unfavourable, and farmers are...

The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, scheduled to take place in Spain from June 30 to July 3, 2025, will address and revitalize strategies for Domestic Revenue Mobilization (DRM) essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on the 2015...

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 objective of this research is to assess the effect of holding government securities on the credit channel, taking into account the heterogeneity of WAEMU banks' balance sheets. The methodology adopted to achieve this objective is VAR panel modelling, proposed by Abrigo and Love. The...

This paper uses a structural approach to analyse economic convergence within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries. This Regional Economic Community has recorded several postponements of the convergence horizon defined by the Economic Commission. However, it is a...

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...

The key lesson of the first twenty five years of the euro is that the ECB is embedded in an incomplete and flawed institutional context. Its role has increasingly emerged as an integration agency in the face of existential threats to the euro. The way the world is going to change will put the...

Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC) countries are exploring the feasibility of establishing a monetary union. This study assesses the economic integration in the two blocs, using the interest rate pass‑through mechanism to determine the convergence of...

The 1992 Maastricht Treaty, laid the foundations for the current European Union with its single market in goods, services, capital and labour and established the framework for the creation of the single currency. We study countries that differ in the extent to which they share a common currency...

The study analysed the macroeconomic developments in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), focusing on macroeconomic imbalances for the period 2001-2022. The variables of interest in this study include inflation rate, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, current account balance,...

This paper challenges the prevailing view in the sovereign debt literature by arguing that sovereign debt markets, in many respects, behave similarly to other credit markets. These markets are hierarchical rather than flat, inherently hybrid in nature, blending elements of public order and...

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...

Using a novel dataset that integrates inflation expectations with information on social network connections, we show that inflation expectations within one's social network have a positive, causal relationship with individual inflation expectations. This relationship is stronger for groups that...

Using newly collected discount rate data for six Swiss cities, we find no evidence of increasing integration during a 30-year period of lightly regulated free banking. We attribute this to two structural issues: banks had incentives to protect their local monopolies, and the inherent instability...