On-going debate of a Pacific Islands currency union has rekindled the argument on whether Pacific Island Countries (PICs) demonstrate symmetric behavior in their business cycles as a precondition for a union according to the OCA theory. Unfortunately for the PICs, there are no empirical studies undertaken involving the analysis of business cycle synchronization. This paper...

This paper investigates an appropriate choice of anchor currency for a proposed Melanesian currency union under various hypothetical currency union arrangements. Drawing from the optimal currency area (OCA) theory and related extensions, the analysis focuses on the effects of a currency union on exchange rate volatility following similar approach by Scrimgeour (2002). Counterfactual exchange rate...

Time series analyses generally rely on having a relatively high frequency of consistent and reliable data to work with. However for many of the South Pacific Island Nations (SPINS), data on major macroeconomic series, like GDP, are typically available only annually from the early 1980s. This paper empirically estimates quarterly GDP data from annual series...

This paper re-kindles the debate on the feasibility of a Pacific Islands currency union in view of the recent expansion and consolidation of regional strategies and agreements such as the 'Pacific Plan' and the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus. These initiatives, including past efforts, have given limited consideration to the subject for a...

This thesis evaluates the feasibility of a Pacific Islands currency union involving six Pacific Island countries (PICs) comprising Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, and their industrialised neighbours, Australia and New Zealand. PICs are vulnerable to internal and external shocks and how they mitigate the effects of these shocks is...