02104cas a2200241 a 4500 AALejournalIMF007330 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781462304233 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Slavov, Slavi. De Jure Versus De Facto Exchange Rate Regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa / Slavi Slavov. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2011. 1 online resource (27 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 There are 22 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with floating exchange rate regimes, de jure. Some target the money supply or the inflation rate; others practice "managed floating." Statistical analysis on monthly data for the past decade reveals that in most cases these exchange rate regimes can be approximated surprisingly well by a soft peg to a basket dominated by the US dollar. The weight on the dollar appears to have fallen somewhat across the continent in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Replicating the model with weekly data for The Gambia suggests that the focus on the dollar might be even more pronounced at higher data frequencies. While there might be strong arguments in favor of limiting exchange rate volatility in SSA countries, soft-pegging to the dollar does not appear to be the best fit for them, given the currency structure of their external trade and finance. The paper concludes by discussing some policy options for SSA countries with flexible exchange rates, in the context of an illustrative recent country case. Mode of access: Internet IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2011/198 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2011/198/001.2011.issue-198-en.xml IMF e-Library