Is regional integration in the CFA zone sustainable?

This article aims to study the long-term sustainability of regional integration in the (Communauté Financière Africaine) CFA zone, based on the theory of the endogeneity of monetary zones. To this end, we consider trade and intra-CFA migration as the two quantitative vectors of regional integration. Using robust estimation techniques to overcome the endogeneity bias, our results show that integration in the CFA zone is moderately sustainable. More precisely, while the monetary unions of the CFA zone, in particular that of the WAEMU, contribute to reinforcing the intra-regional mobility of goods and people, they fail to induce strong synchronization of the macroeconomic cycles.