The Challenge and Prospect of a Monetary Union in West Africa: The Case of the Eco

Abstract

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has since its establishment in 1975 (via the Treaty of Lagos) aimed to advance regional integration and the development of the sub-region. Regional trade liberalization and the creation of a new West African currency (the Eco) to reduce mass poverty, among others, were two steps adopted towards the fulfillment of this goal. Guided by the Theory of Monetary Integration and the Optimal Currency Area (OCA) theory and steeped in the qualitative analytical tool of content and documentary analysis, it analyzed the forces that have shaped the implementation of the ECOWAS' single currency project. The result is mixed: the implementation has been menaced by the lack of political will, prevalence of heterogenous blocs revealing sharp colonial attachments and influence, structural deficiencies in the single currency framework, among others, yet, there are prospects that leans on the natural resource utilization school that could potentially offset the resource deficiency burden on its members.