Regional Integration and Employment in West African Economic and Monetary Union: an Analysis Through Okun’ s Law

The objective of this study is to analyze the advent of the extension of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), pooling the monetary and economic policies for the eight member countries towards an employment union. For this, a convergence of the employment dynamics of the member countries is necessary. The study implements Okun's law, which establishes an inverse relationship between growth and unemployment, to determine the Okun coefficients of the member countries and analyze their proximity. It appears that the WAEMU zone is not currently an optimal employment zone, however a core is emerging and the proximity of the Okun coefficients with the expected sign indicates the viability of a possible employment union project.