Abstract
Macroeconomic stabilization frameworks have implications for free trade agreements. Earlier studies on free trade agreement in Africa ignored the ECOWAS sub-region. This study analyzed the effects of macroeconomic variables on free trade agreements in five topmost ECOWAS trading economies. The result revealed that the ECOWAS region does not require a single currency to optimize the benefits from free trade agreements. Besides, the trade creation effect exists through the impact of unemployment on free trade agreements. In conclusion, inflation targeting policy would accentuate the gains from free trade agreement while the single currency is not required for free trade to flourish.
Data availability statement
Raw data were generated from The World Bank Development Indicator Citation2020 online version from https://data.worldbank.org/