Financial Depth in the WAEMU: Benchmarking Against Frontier SSA Countries
Electronic Access:
Free Download. Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file
Summary:
Financial depth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been uneven over the last two decades. The WAEMU countries are lagging behind other regions, particularly the High Growth Non-oil Exporters (HGNOEs) group. We use two complementary methodologies to compare the two groups of countries. In a panel of 16 countries over 1997–2009, we find that the financial gap between the two groups of countries can be explained by institutional factors. In a benchmarking exercise comparing the major economy in the WAEMU (Côte d’Ivoire) with the most structurally similar in the control group (Mozambique), we show that Côte d’Ivoire underperformed relative to Mozambique and to its estimated potential. We then identify policy and institutional asymmetries between the two countries that could explain the gap in performance.
Series:
Working Paper No. 2013/161
Subject:
Bank credit Banking Credit Financial markets Financial sector development Infrastructure Legal support in revenue administration Money National accounts Revenue administration
English
Publication Date:
July 3, 2013
ISBN/ISSN:
9781484309391/1018-5941
Stock No:
WPIEA2013161
Pages:
23
Please address any questions about this title to publications@imf.org