Policy Brief
What Can the European Central Bank Learn from Africa?

The 14-member Franc Zone in West and Central Africa represents the largest monetary union in the southern hemisphere, predating the European Monetary Union by decades. With monetary unions planned for other parts of Africa in the near future, Macroeconomic Policy in the Franc Zone focuses on some of the key challenges facing the Franc Zone today: - how does a single currency area meet the needs of such a wide range of countries facing very different economic conditions? 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? Have they been able to adapt the 'best practice' of OECD central banks to African conditions? - how do the policies of the Franc Zone impact on the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in the region?