East Asian countries were notably uninterested in regional monetary integration until the late 1990's, when the Asian financial crisis revealed the fragility of the region's exchange rate arrangements and highlighted the need for a stronger regional financial architecture. Since then, the countries of East Asia have begun taking steps to explore monetary and financial cooperation, establishing such initiatives as regular consultations among finance ministers and central bank governors and the pooling of foreign exchange reserves. In this book Ulrich Volz investigates the prospects for monetary cooperation and integration in East Asia, using state-of-the-art theoretical and empirical tools to analyze the most promising policy options. --
East Asian exchange rates have become a global flashpoint. U.S. policymakers blame artificially low Asian currency values for global imbalances, including America's ballooning current account deficit. The solution, they argue, lies in some combination of greater exchange rate flexibility and the appreciation of Asian currencies against the dollar. Asian officials recognize the need to let their exchange rates rise, but they fear that would hamper growth and cut sharply into the value of their dollar reserves. Toward an East Asian Exchange Rate Regime offers a timely and comprehensive analysis of the resulting debates, drawing on expertise from China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. The introduction reviews the issues at stake, sketches a variety of proposed exchange rate regimes, and discusses comparisons between East Asia and the West. Subsequent chapters examine the connection between global financial imbalances and East Asian monetary cooperation, China's potential role in regional coordination, the relationship between monetary and trade integration, and different paths toward regional cooperation. Authoritative yet concise, this is an essential primer on East Asian monetary integration. Contributors include Gongpil Choi (Korean Institute of Finance, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco), Masahiro Kawai (University of Tokyo, Asian Development Bank), Kwanho Shin (Korea University), Yunjong Wang (SK Institute), Masaru Yoshitomi (RIETI,Tokyo), and Yongding Yu (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences).
" In this important new book, C.H. Kwan asks whether the Japanese yen can, or will, replace the dollar as the key currency in East Asia. Kwan analyzes the implications for Japan and Asia's developing countries should they come together to form a yen bloc--a grouping of countries that use the yen as an international currency and maintain stable exchange rates against the yen. Combining academic analysis with his experience advising the Japanese prime minister and the Japanese minister of finance, Kwan concludes that a yen bloc might benefit Asia's developing countries--as well as Japan--while contributing to a more stable international monetary order. Kwan's book represents the first attempt to explore systematically the possibility of monetary integration in Asia. It also provides a vision for regional integration in Asia in the twenty-first century. "
Gordon De Brouwer is an experienced Routledge author All contributors are leading researchers in the field and are mainly from Australia, Japan and Korea
This edited volume evaluates the prospects for monetary and financial cooperation in East Asia after the crises in the developed countries (2008 in the US, 2010 in Europe).
Asian economies strengthened their monetary and currency management after the Asian financial crisis of 19971998, and came through the global financial crisis of 20072009 relatively well. Nevertheless, the recent global crisis has presented new challenges. This book develops recommendations for monetary and currency policy in Asian economies aimed at promoting macroeconomic and financial stability in an environment of global economic shocks and volatile capital flows. Monetary and Currency Policy Management in Asia draws lessons from crises and makes concrete macroeconomic policy recommendations aimed at minimizing the impacts of an economic and financial downturn, and setting the stage for an early return to sustainable growth. The focus is on short-term measures related to the cycle. The three main areas addressed are: monetary policy measures, both conventional and unconventional, to achieve both macroeconomic and financial stability; exchange rate policy and foreign exchange reserve management, including the potential for regional cooperation to stabilize currency movements; and ways to ease the constraints on policy resulting from the so-called 'impossible trinity' of fixed exchange rates, open capital accounts and independent monetary policy. This is one of the first books since the global financial crisis to specifically and comprehensively address the implications of the crisis for monetary and currency policy in emerging market economies, especially in Asia. Presenting a broad menu of policy options for financial reform and regulation, the book will be of great interest to finance experts and policymakers in the region as well as academics and researchers of financial and Asian economics as well as economic development.
The first part of the book examines the evolution of monetary policy and prudential frameworks of the ASEAN5, with particular focus on changes since the Asian financial crisis and the more recent period of unconventional monetary policy in advanced economies. The second part of the book looks at policy responses to global financial spillovers. The third and last part of the book elaborates on the challenges ahead for monetary policy, financial stability frameworks, and the deepening of financial markets.
This book examines the need for greater East Asian cooperation and the challenges to this grand endeavor. With differing national outlooks, how can East Asia preserve peace, prosperity and stability amidst geopolitical competition? To answer this question, the volume examines the political and economic relations between Beijing and its neighbors against the backdrop of two trends: the power shift from the West to the East in the aftermath of the American Financial Crisis and the ongoing eurozone crisis, as well as the rise of China.
As Japan's newfound economic power leads to increased political power, there is concern that Japan may be turning East Asia into a regional economic bloc to rival the U.S. and Europe. In Regionalism and Rivalry, leading economists and political scientists address this concern by looking at three central questions: Is Japan forming a trading bloc in Pacific Asia? Does Japan use foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia to achieve national goals? Does Japan possess the leadership qualities necessary for a nation assuming greater political responsibility in international affairs? The authors contend that although intraregional trade in East Asia is growing rapidly, a trade bloc is not necessarily forming. They show that the trade increase can be explained entirely by factors independent of discriminatory trading arrangements, such as the rapid growth of East Asian economies. Other chapters look in detail at cases of Japanese direct investment in Southeast Asia and find little evidence of attempts by Japan to use the power of its multinational corporations for political purposes. A third group of papers attempt to gauge Japan's leadership characteristics. They focus on Japan's "technology ideology," its contributions to international public goods, international monetary cooperation, and economic liberalization in East Asia.
Towards Monetary and Financial Integration in East Asia is an important book. East Asia, led by China, has been and will continue to be the largest, most rapidly growing region in the world. Major global imbalances persist, with East Asia in large surplus. Yet East Asian financial and monetary integration is only in the early stages of what will necessarily be a long-run process. These 14 essays by different authors address, in six Parts, fundamental long-run issues and prospects. These include the development of a regional financial architecture, liquidity provision and crisis management, surveillance mechanisms, exchange rate arrangements, currency baskets, an Asian Currency Unit, and ultimately even a single currency. The implications of the rise of China and the role of Japan underlie much of these analyses. However imperfect, the EU is the dominant relevant experience for East Asian financial and monetary integration. It is important to understand, as the authors do, that it took 47 years from the EU s nascent founding to the establishment of the euro, and that economic integration has preceded political integration. This book importantly addresses such basic issues in this time frame and with an appreciation of the political economy difficulties of financial integration. Hugh Patrick, Columbia University, US The book edited by Professors Hamada, Reszat, and Volz gives a comprehensive overview of the current status and challenges of economic integration in East Asia. Monetary and financial integration in East Asia has proceeded gradually but steadily since the Asian financial crisis of 1997 98. The book is an authoritative cutting-edge collection of papers in respective topics which brings the reader to the frontier of the literature. Takatoshi Ito, University of Tokyo, Japan This indispensable book provides a comprehensive analysis of monetary and financial integration in East Asia. It assesses the steps already taken toward financial integration and brings forward different proposals for future exchange rate arrangements in what has now become the world s most dynamic region. With contributions from distinguished experts this timely book evaluates the economic and politico-economic arguments and conditions for monetary and financial integration in East Asia. It explores how and to what extent the countries of the region can integrate despite their heterogeneity and their underlying political tensions. Drawing on the European experiences, this book analyzes the economic logic of monetary and financial integration in East Asia and its political feasibility. This invaluable broad analysis will be of interest to academic researchers, students, policy-makers and professional economists working on matters of international economic cooperation, common currency areas, international open economy macroeconomics, and East Asian integration.
