In 1975, 15 of the 16 countries in West Africa got together and formed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with a long list of laudable economic goals for the region. In this e-book, I will briefly describe this economic regional organization and the main assumptions which led to its creation; discuss this region’s economy and its successful and unsuccessful attempts at economic integration, offer an unbiased evaluation of the organization so far, and speculate about its future.
