Launch of a new WIDER study
by David Fielding and Jean-Paul Azam
Organised by the OECD Development Centre and WIDER
Tuesday 21 February 2006, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Room 4, OECD HQ, Paris
The 14-member CFA Franc Zones in West and Central Africa predate the European Monetary Union by decades. With monetary unions planned for other parts of Africa in the near future, a new study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER) focuses on some of the challenges facing the Franc Zone today:
- How close is the Franc Zone to being an “Optimum Currency Area”?
- How well do the institutions of the Franc Zone manage monetary policy in the area?
- How do the policies of the Franc Zone impact on the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in the region?
The study pays particular attention to the way in which this disparate group of countries exploits the advantages and manage the costs of adhering to a single currency. It also analyses the impact of Franc Zone institutions on poverty.
The plan by non-CFA ECOWAS countries, and by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, to form monetary unions in the next two years makes the research, based on rigorous economic and econometric methodology, particularly timely.
CHAIRPERSON
Kenneth G. Ruffing is Co-ordinator of the OECD Development Centre/African Development Bank African Economic Outlook. Following a long career with the United Nations, he was formerly Deputy Director and Chief Economist of the OECD’s Environment Directorate from 2000 to 2005.
SPEAKERS
David Fielding is Professor of Economics at the University of Otago, New Zealand. His research interests are in development macroeconomics and quantitative political economy. He has previously held positions at the Universities of Oxford, Nottingham and Leicester. David Fielding is the Director of the WIDER project ‘Macroeconomic Policy in the Franc Zone’.
Jean-Paul Azam is Professor of Economics at the University of Toulouse and at the Institut Universitaire de France, and the Director of ARQADE (Research in Quantitative Applied Development Economics). He has served for about 15 years as a resource-person with the AERC (African Economic Research Consortium), and as a consultant for, amongst others, the World Bank, the OECD Development Centre, and the Agence Française de Développement.
DISCUSSANTS
Nicolas Pinaud is the OECD Development Centre specialist on the Rand zone and also part of the African Economic Outlook team. He recently published a study titled "Reducing Capital Cost in Southern Africa".
Bruno Cabrillac is an Economic Advisor for Africa at the Treasury and Economic Policy General Directorate of the French Ministry of Finance. Has widely published on the economies of the Middle East and China.
PRESENTATIONS
“What Can We Learn from the CFA Franc Zone?”, by David Fielding (ppt, 145 KB)
“Poverty and the CFA Zone”, by Jean-Paul Azam (ppt, 34 KB)
“Financing Costs and the CFA Franc: A Promise yet to be Fulfilled”, by Nicolas Pinaud (ppt, 109 KB)
“Macroeconomic policy in the Franc Zone”, commentaires par Bruno Cabrillac (ppt, 83 KB)
REGISTRATION
Admission is free. Please register in advance, contact:
Teresa.Wells@oecd.org
Tel.: 33.1.45.24.96.16
Fax.: 33 (0)1 44.30.61.49
MEDIA CONTACTS
For more information on the event and interviews with the speakers, please contact:
Colm Foy, Head of Communications at the OECD Development Centre
Tel 33 (1) 45 24 84 80
Colm.Foy@oecd.org .
and/or
Ara Kazandjian, Outreach and Media Coordinator at WIDER
Tel. (358-9) 615-99-210
Mobile telephone: (358-50) 351-0325
E-mail: ara@wider.unu.edu
PUBLICATIONS
The presentations are based on the following publications:
ORGANISERS
World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER) undertakes multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on structural changes affecting the living conditions of the world’s poorest people; provides a forum for professional interaction and the advocacy of policies leading to robust, equitable and environmentally sustainable growth; and promotes capacity strengthening and training for scholars and government officials in the field of economic and social policy making. WIDER is the first research and training centre of the United Nations University (UNU), established in Helsinki, Finland in 1984. www.wider.unu.edu
Created in 1962 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, the Development Centre is an interface between OECD Member countries and the emerging and developing economies. The Centre's Member countries are represented at Ambassadorial level on a Governing Board which oversees the design and implementation of bi-annual work programmes.
www.oecd.org/dev
The WIDER study is funded through contributions from the Ministries for Foreign Affairs and Departments of Development Cooperation of Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. We acknowledge with thanks their support to the Institute's research programme.
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