Measuring Monetary Policy Stance in Sub-Saharan African Emerging and Frontier Markets

This paper assesses the stance of monetary policy in eleven Sub-Saharan African (SSA) emerging and frontier market economies. We estimate neutral real interest rates using a range of methodologies, and find a broadly declining trend in most economies since the Global Financial Crisis, consistent with patterns observed in advanced and major emerging market economies. We document significant heterogeneity in monetary policy stances—measured by the interest rate gap—even during common global shocks. We also examine the consistency between signals from the intended monetary policy stance and broader financial conditions. To this end, we construct financial conditions indices (FCIs) and analyze their relationship with interest rate gaps. We find that this relationship strengthens during periods of highly accommodative or restrictive monetary stances, particularly in economies that have adopted or are transitioning to inflation-targeting frameworks. Moreover, contractionary monetary shocks tighten financial conditions more in these economies than in those operating under other regimes.