Lezioni dall’eurozona per l’Africa (Lessons for Africa from the Eurozone)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13133/2037-3651_73.289_2Keywords:
Monetary unions, Eurozone, monetary reform, optimal currency areasAbstract
La recente crisi dell’eurozona, insieme all’annunciata riforma del Il susseguirsi di crisi nella zona euro rende forse necessaria una riconsiderazione dei progetti di unione monetaria in Africa. Questo lavoro sostiene che l’esperienza dell’Unione europea contiene tre lezioni principali per l’Africa. In primo luogo, piuttosto che come una progressione lineare l’integrazione regionale è da considerarsi come un processo, in cui l’unione monetaria può favorire altri aspetti dell’integrazione, ma non ne costituisce una componente essenziale. In secondo luogo, i requisiti necessari per un’unione monetaria sostenibile non sono adeguatamente colti dai criteri propri di un’area monetaria ottimale e dai criteri di convergenza macroeconomica (o criteri di Maastricht), ai quali viene data la massima attenzione nei progetti delle unioni monetarie africane. In terzo luogo, i prerequisiti per il successo di un’unione monetaria richiedono una forte solidarietà regionale, basata su approcci condivisi in merito alla definizione di politiche che consentano la creazione di istituzioni comunitarie che risultino efficienti per una vasta gamma di settori.
Successive euro zone crises suggest a need for a re-evaluation of currency union projects in Africa. It is argued here that the experience of the EU has three main lessons for Africa. First, regional integration is best viewed as a process rather than a linear progression, in which monetary union may abet other aspects of integration, but is not an essential component of it. Second, the requirements for a sustainable monetary union are not adequately captured by the Optimum Currency Area and macroeconomic convergence criteria (or Maastricht criteria) which are given the most attention in plans for African monetary unions. Third, the prerequisites for a successful monetary union require strong regional solidarity based on common approaches to policymaking that permit the creation of effective community institutions across a wide array of policy areas.
JEL codes:E42, F33, F53
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