— Nkechi S. Owoo
Dr. Owoo, in this article, conclues as follows:
Generally, monetary unions increase trade integration, both among
member-states and, to a lesser degree, among non-member states as
we have seen in the effects of monetary unions on economics of in
particular West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and European Monetary Union (EMU). It is important to note however that overall benefits are maximized in high-trade environments.
Although WAEMU countries have higher trade than among other ECOWAS
states, a number of factors mitigate against higher international trade
movements such as the prevalence of costly border procedures; weak
governance; political instability; inadequate transport infrastructure;
poor business environments; irregular implementation of WAEMU
rules of origins, among others. These factors will need to be seriously
considered by all member states in their collective bid to adopt the Eco
later in the year.
The experience of the EMU highlights a few key lessons, chief of which
is the need to have a Fiscal Union at the Supranational level, in order
to ensure fiscal discipline of member states once the single currency is
adopted.