EFFECT OF THE EXCHANGE RATE ON THE TRADE BALANCE: EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

MAYBEL NKANSAH 112 PAGES (25352 WORDS) Economics Thesis

International trade has enormous impact on a country’s economic growth and development as a whole. Governments in every part of the globe pursue various economic policies aimed at improving trade and enhancing economic development. The trade balance is a major indicator in determining a country’s trade performance on the international market. An improved trade balance will improve a country’s current account balance and GDP as a whole and vice versa. Unfortunately, most of the economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have persistently been recording a trade deficit. This continuous deterioration of the current account balance is a reflection of the persistent trade deficit in the region as whole. Thus, this can jeopardize the growth and development process of these economies. A strong export sector is therefore necessary in order to keep the trade balance in a better position as has been the anchor of the economies of East Asia. Although, a focus on technological advancement, innovation and investment are some of the long term measures to build a strong export sector to remedy the situation, the exchange rate has been cited as one of the most commonly used short term mitigating policies to curtail a falling trade balance. Especially for developing countries, it has been assumed that exchange rate depreciation is an appropriate macroeconomic fundamental to support the export sector (Vitale, 2003).