Impact of changes in the European Monetary System on the monetary and financial systeme of African member countries of the CFA Zone

Abstract

Since its establishment during the colonial era, the CFA franc zone has symbolized the acceptance of the French franc (FF) system by its African member countries. The system has operated under exceptional conditions of a generalized floating of currencies, and has even resisted the erratic fluctuations following independence. With the changing of the economic and institutional framework within which the FF operates, especially the establishment of the European Monetary System (EMS), the issue arises as to the relevance of the monetary and financial systems to which African countries belong. This report is divided into four chapters: (a) The monetary and financial system of the CFA franc zone; (b) Problems of adjusting the monetary and financial system of the CFA franc zone in view of the trend of the EMS towards a European Economic and Monetary Union; (c) Study of scenarios; and (d) Overall evaluation of the scenarios and their impact on the economic policies of African countries of the CFA zone.