Fiscal legacies and public financial management performance in West Africa: a comparative study of Anglophone and Francophone ECOWAS states

Purpose This study aims to investigate how colonial fiscal legacies shape contemporary public financial management (PFM) performance across Anglophone and Francophone ECOWAS member states. It assesses the influence of British and French administrative traditions on budget reliability, fiscal transparency, policy-based budgeting and audit performance using the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) 2016 Framework. Design/methodology/approach A comparative cross-sectional design is employed, drawing on PEFA 2016 assessments for 12 ECOWAS countries. Letter grades were converted to numerical scores, aggregated into seven pillars and used to construct a composite PFM index. A weighted recency adjustment normalised scores across assessments conducted between 2017 and 2024. Heat maps visualised intra- and inter-bloc differences, supported by theoretical insights from public choice theory, new institutional economics and historical institutionalism. Findings Both blocs demonstrate moderate PFM performance, but with apparent structural variations. Francophone countries exhibit greater budgetary reliability and policy-based fiscal management, reflecting the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)’s harmonised directives and CFA Zone discipline. Anglophone countries perform better on transparency but show weaknesses in execution control and external audit. Practical implications The study highlights the need for ECOWAS to strengthen budget credibility, audit independence and regional fiscal coordination. It proposes establishing a regional audit peer support network, adopting commitment control systems, publishing budget credibility statements and creating a regional fiscal risk register. These measures can support fiscal convergence, enhance accountability and improve the overall effectiveness of PFM reforms across the region. Originality/value This study provides the first comparative analysis of Anglophone and Francophone ECOWAS countries using normalised PEFA 2016 data. It integrates historical, institutional and political-economy perspectives to explain why similar reforms produce divergent outcomes across linguistic blocs. The study contributes a methodological innovation, the weighted recency adjustment, to improve the comparability of PEFA assessments conducted in different years.