The Banque Central des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO) or its English translation The Central Bank of West African States is the central bank of the West African Monetary Union, which consists of 8 francophone West African countries including: Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Cote Ivoire, and Senegal. These countries were priorly colonized by France, and all use the African Financial Community Franc best known as the CFA Franc. Considering that the BCEAO is comprised of countries who less than 70-years ago were colonized by the French and are presently joined under the colonial currency CFA Franc, which is printed and manage by the French treasury, and is pegged to the Euro. It’s clear that there is a relationship between the BCEAO and the ECB. What needs to be explored is, if and how is this relationship between the BCEAO and the ECB continuous today? As well as how does this connection influence the BCEAO’s monetary policy transmission?
To answer this question, we’ll be taking a closer look into these three areas:
- Structural Similarities of the EU and the BCEAO
- Short Term Policy Rates
- Long Term Interest Rates
Presentation deriving from economics seminar on the theory and practice of central banking with Roisin O’Sullivan, professor of economics.