TY  - BOOK
AU  - Qureshi,Mahvash
AU  - Tsangarides,Charalambos G.
TI  - What is Fuzzy About Clustering in West Africa?
T2  - IMF Working Papers; Working Paper
SN  - 1451863500 :
SN  - 1018-5941
PY  - 2006///
CY  - Washington, D.C.
PB  - International Monetary Fund
KW  - Cluster Analysis
KW  - imf
KW  - Inflation
KW  - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
KW  - Monetary Integration
KW  - Monetary Union
KW  - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods
KW  - Gambia, The
KW  - Ghana
KW  - Guinea
KW  - Guinea-Bissau
KW  - Nigeria
N2  - Applying techniques of clustering analysis to a set of variables suggested by the convergence criteria and the theory of optimal currency areas, this paper looks for country homogeneities to assess membership in the existing and proposed monetary unions of the broader west African region. Our analysis reveals considerable dissimilarities in the economic characteristics of the countries in west and central Africa. In particular, the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) countries do not form a cluster with the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries; and, within the WAMZ, there is a significant lack of homogeneity. Furthermore, when west and central African countries are considered together, we find significant heterogeneities within the CFA franc zone, and some interesting similarities between the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and WAMZ countries. Overall, our findings raise some questions about the geographical boundaries of several existing and proposed monetary unions
UR  - http://elibrary.imf.org/view/IMF001/07894-9781451863505/07894-9781451863505/07894-9781451863505.xml
UR  - http://www.imfbookstore.org/IMFORG/9781451863505
ER  -