Political and Institutional Prerequisites for Monetary Union: Assessing Progress in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Abstract

In this article, I analyze why it has been difficult to achieve the proposed common currency, the "ECO" by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), using a constructivist approach that emphasizes the importance of institutions. I argue that a common currency has not been implemented due to the absence of an intense and institutionalized set of political and economic relationships among member states. The analysis places emphasis on how historical, social, and cultural factors structure the operation of a common currency to ground the behavior of actors in widely shared experiences and institutionalized principles.