01879cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF001987 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781451853117 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Masson, Paul. Experience with Budgetary Convergence in the WAEMU / Paul Masson, Ousmane Dore. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2002. 1 online resource (28 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students This paper reviews the experience of fiscal adjustment undertaken in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries since the entry into force of the 1994 treaty establishing the framework for a regional convergence of national fiscal policies. We propose a measure of the structural deficit that corrects for movements of both the business cycle and terms of trade. Though the fiscal deficit worsened in 1998-2001 in some countries because of terms of trade deterioration and unfavorable movements in the business cycle, convergence stalled even when corrected for these factors. Meeting fiscal deficit targets in the future will be facilitated by a favorable external environment but, in any case, will require a higher revenue ratio and downward pressure on government wages as shares of GDP. Mode of access: Internet Dore, Ousmane. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2002/108 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2002/108/001.2002.issue-108-en.xml IMF e-Library