Financial Repression Index for CFA Franc Zones: PCA Construction and Investment - Panel

This dataset accompanies the article “Measuring Financial Repression in CFA Franc Zones: Index Construction and Implications for Investment Activity”, accepted for publication in the International Journal of Financial Studies. It provides the complete empirical foundation for constructing, validating, and applying a composite Financial Repression Index for the 14 member countries of the CEMAC and UEMOA monetary unions.

The dataset contains a balanced panel covering 2005–2021, which represents the longest period for which all repression‑related variables are jointly observable across the CFA franc countries. Although the institutional analysis in the article spans 1985–2024, data limitations—especially for interest‑rate series and liquidity ratios—necessitate restricting the empirical sample to this balanced window to ensure comparability and methodological integrity.

The repository includes:

* Excel dataset containing all macroeconomic variables used in the PCA and fixed‑effects regressions.

A Python script that fully reproduce the PCA workflow:

* PCA construction script: standardizes the four repression proxies and extracts the first principal component, which serves as the composite Financial Repression Index.

The Financial Repression Index is constructed using principal component analysis (PCA) after standardizing all variables to mean zero and unit variance. Higher index values correspond to greater financial repression, reflecting policy‑induced constraints such as interest‑rate rigidities, liquidity mandates, and limited credit allocation. Domestic credit and broad money are treated as repression‑related outcomes rather than development indicators, consistent with the institutional characteristics of the CFA franc zones.