Toward regional financial and monetary cooperation in East Asia1

The financial and economic crisis in 1997–98 came as a dramatic shock to East Asian economies, and has prompted to institutionalize a regional financial and monetary cooperation. This paper demonstrates the strong will of East Asian countries to develop the regional financial and monetary cooperation, outlines recent developments, and provides possible prospects for the future. It points out that the option to keep consistent with the IMF system actually weakens regional solidarity, and recommends an immediate establishment of a strong regional surveillance and peer pressure mechanism for the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) to evolve into a common pool of foreign exchange reserves, a sort of East Asian IMF. It also argues that East Asian countries should closely coordinate their exchange rate regime to maintain intra‐regional and extra‐regional exchange rate stability.     

东亚货币合作为何遭遇挫折?——兼论人民币国际化及其对未来东亚货币合作的影响

与1997年亚洲金融危机爆发后东亚各经济体迅速推进了区域货币合作进程不同,此次全球金融危机爆发后不仅既有的合作框架或机制(如CMI等)未能发挥作用,各主要经济体之间有关合作的分歧也在明显增大,东亚货币合作遭遇了重大挫折。文章指出东亚货币合作本身存在的固有矛盾或问题如对现行美元体制的依赖等,是影响其未来发展的长期性因素,决定了在今后相当长时期内东亚地区在整体上不具备推进货币合作深化发展的前提条件。未来东亚货币合作的开展应该在整体层面上巩固和扩大既有成果的同时,在具备条件的局部地区推进货币合作的深化发展。在这方面,人民币国际化战略的实施将发挥重要作用。人民币国际化应该采取周边化→区域化→国际化的路径。     

Yen bloc or koala bloc? Currency relationships after the East Asian crisis

During the 1990s, several studies found evidence for a “yen bloc”, a significant and strengthening relationship between the Japanese yen and East Asian currencies possibly due to regional trade and investment by Japan. It appears that the Australian dollar now plays a similar role in the East Asian region, and the linkages between the Australian dollar and the Asian currencies show as much support for a “koala bloc” as a “yen bloc”. This study concludes that the US dollar appears to have declined in importance in post-1997 crisis East Asia, while Australia and Japan are becoming increasingly important regional influences.     

Is Asian Currency Unit Attractive to East Asian Economies？

Pegging the RMB exchange rate to the Asian currency unit (ACU) has not, at least in the short term, been proved a better solution than pegging to the US dollar or pegging to a G‐3 (US$, Japanese yen and euro) currency basket. Although the Asian currency unit can help Asian economies to keep the relative price of regional currencies stable, the cost of joining a formal regional monetary cooperation is the relinquishment of the autonomy of their domestic policies. Asian monetary cooperation needs to provide more potential benefits if it is to attract Asian economies. We argue that Asian monetary cooperation should be designed to solve the problem of regional trade imbalance, and regional exchange rate policy coordination should be adopted as the first step towards exchange rate cooperation. (Edited by Zhinan Zhang)     

关于东亚区域货币合作问题的分析

1997年的亚洲金融危机给东亚各国的经济带来了沉重打击。此后,东亚各国纷纷认识到开展区域内货币金融合作的必要性,并以此来增强抵御风险、化解危机的能力。这次亚洲金融危机改变了东亚国家的政策取向,区域经济一体化步入制度性安排的快车道,这也为东亚区域货币合作创造了条件。另外,美元区与欧元区的相继建立和运行不仅证实了最优货币区理论在实践上的可行性,也增强了东亚各国在货币合作问题上取得成功的信心。本文将要对东亚区域货币合作问题做以探讨分析,从而说明东亚区域货币合作的必要性和可行性。     

Empirical study on intra-regional bond investment: an application to East Asia

Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, bond market development has been one of the central pillars of financial cooperation in East Asia, with concerted efforts made by the East Asian economies to integrate regional bond markets. As a result, aggregate intra-regional bond investment expanded from US$49.56 billion in 2003 to US$352.18 billion in 2017. This paper examines the pattern and determinants of intra-regional bond investment in East Asia. We analyse regional foreign holdings of long-term and short-term bonds in eight East Asian economies. Bond market size turns out to be the main concern of regional foreign investors participating in East Asian long-term bond markets. This analysis also highlights the importance of bond issuance and bond yield volatility in attracting regional foreign short-term bond investment. Therefore, initiatives to improve regional bond market development may be crucial to stimulating intra-regional bond investment and in turn enhance East Asian financial stability.     

Was it really a dollar peg?: The exchange rate policies of East Asian countries, 1980–1997

This paper examines the exchange rate policies of East Asian countries during the period preceding the currency crisis of 1997, in an attempt to ascertain the extent to which they could be considered, as they frequently are, as a dollar peg. We do so by estimating the implicit weights of foreign currencies in the nominal exchange rate determination of East Asian currencies by means of a time-varying parameter model. The crucial element of our approach concerns how the weight of the Japanese yen was altered in response to the movement of the yen–dollar exchange rate. It is found that, while the weight of the U.S. dollar was large and the weight of the Japanese yen was small for the period as a whole, the weight of the yen was raised in some of the countries in the early 1990s. In particular, the Korean and Malaysian authorities raised the weight of the yen when the yen depreciated against the U.S. dollar, while the Singaporean authorities raised the weight of the yen when the yen appreciated against the dollar.     

东亚货币合作研究文献综述

全球性金融危机的爆发再次助推了东亚地区货币合作的进程。本文详细梳理了东亚货币合作研究的线索,明确了东亚货币合作进一步的研究方向：从货币竞争和锚货币选择这个思路考察区域内核心货币（尤其是人民币）在汇率协调机制中发挥的作用,并对东亚汇率协调机制进行重估。同时,还需在新形势下从理论和实践层面探讨中国如何参与东亚货币合作以促进中国乃至东亚地区的繁荣和发展,为进一步推进东亚货币合作提供理论支持和政策依据。     

全球金融危机下对深化东亚金融合作的新思考

从东亚金融合作的历程看,东亚金融合作是在东亚金融危机中诞生,又在应对全球金融危机中不断发展的。尽管东亚金融合作已经在一些领域取得了不少实质性的进展,但此次金融危机对金融全球化下东亚各国如何进一步推进区域金融合作提出了迫切要求。本文在分析东亚金融合作现状的基础上,着重对如何推动亚洲债券市场发展提出了具体建议。     

Restructuring East Asian exchange rate regimes

This paper investigated the degree of misalignment of the East Asian currencies against the U.S. dollar and against the Japanese yen under a de facto dollar-pegged exchange rate regime (January 1995 to May 1997). We found that overvaluation against the yen started in the Malaysian ringgit and the Philippine peso from January 1996 and the Thai baht from June 1996. Although the Indonesian rupiah and the Korean won against the yen were still undervalued in May 1997, degree of misalignment of both currencies narrowed from April 1995. Large withdrawal of Japanese claims after the financial crisis reduced Japanese bank lendings from $123.8 billion to $85.9 billion in end-June 1998. In 1998, Japanese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to East Asia fell as much as 44% from the previous year. In conclusion the paper stresses the importance of the stability in yen/dollar exchange rate to avoid large volatility in Japanese capital flow.     

China's New International Financial Strategy amid the Global Financial Crisis

The Chinese Government has stepped up its drive to reconstruct its international ftnancial strategy after the sub-prime crisis developed into a global financial crisis in 2008. The main aim of the strategy is to reduce the country＇s dependence on the US dollar in foreign trade, cross-border capital flows and foreign exchange reserve management. The strategy can be divided into three tiers： renminbi internationalization, regional monetary cooperation and reconstruction of the international monetary regime. So far, the Chinese Government has fared well in the application of all three tiers. We hoM that the Chinese Government should continue in the same direction in a coordinated manner despite various challenges it faces.     

The evolving renminbi regime and implications for Asian currency stability

The Chinese authorities described the management of the renminbi after its 2005 unpegging from the US dollar as involving a basket of trading partner currencies. Outside analysts have detected few signs of such management. We find that, in the 2 years from mid-2006 to mid-2008, the renminbi strengthened gradually against trading partners’ currencies within a narrow band. In mid-2008, the financial crisis interrupted this experiment and the bilateral renminbi/dollar exchange rate stabilised at 6.8. The 2006-2008 experience suggests that a shared policy of gradual nominal effective appreciation renders East Asian currencies quite stable against one another. Such a shared policy would create favourable conditions for regional monetary cooperation.     

东亚货币合作的现状分析及中国的战略选择

经济全球化和区域经济一体化的世界经济趋势对东亚货币合作提出了迫切要求,东亚国家在金融领域暴露出的金融体系脆弱性要求加强东亚货币合作。鉴于亚洲地区政治经化的复杂性和差异性,整个亚洲的金融合作条件远未成熟,但东亚地区的经济往来密切,具备了一定的基础。本文对东亚货币合作的现状和未来可能的路径和前景进行分析,并对中国的参与提出建议。     

超越东亚模式:金融危机中的东亚与中国

东亚发展模式在这次由美国次贷危机引发的全球金融危机中暴露出严重的局限性,其依靠投入与出口拉动的经济增长模式形成了对美国市场、美元及美国金融的高度依赖,使得本次危机透过金融渠道、货币渠道以及商品渠道对东亚经济体造成前所未有的冲击。东亚国家与地区应以这次危机为契机,调整其传统的经济发展模式,即通过体制机制创新来建立以技术进步和效率提升为动力,内需主导与外需相结合的全面促进经济发展的新模式。同时,加强区域合作,形成亚洲区域内经济循环机制,以期有效缓解外部冲击。     

东亚金融一体化的动态及其收益

近年来，东亚一系列区域金融合作引起了学术界对地区金融一体化现状和收益的极大兴趣。文章基于价格和数量的测度考察了东亚地区金融一体化的程度：抛补利差和股权溢价的β收敛结果表明，危机之前东亚金融市场的全球和区域一体化并行，但在近几年，区域一体化趋势更强劲，超过了全球一体化；金融引力模型的结果表明，东亚主要的跨境金融投资者的区域内金融资产持有量比金融引力模型预测的水平更大。此外，面板回归确定了较高的金融一体化作为更广泛的金融发展的关键组成部分，会显著降低东亚国家对发达国家的经常账户失衡，因此，区域层面的金融一体化可以作为加强东亚国家的增长来源和提高经济弹性的重要政策路径。     

东亚金融合作的经验分析与理性反思

金融危机后,从单边角度考察,东亚各经济体又陷入了一种汇率制度选择的囚徒困境,东亚地区的汇率安排问题需要求助于区域性的金融合作机制。东亚强势国家的政府在跨国界的经济制度安排中更能够发挥强制性制度变迁的主导功能,并提供制度化的合作体系。为了防止市场溢出和政策外溢,降低合作成本,避免逆效合作与搭便车行为,保证金融合作的稳定推进与分步实施,必须通过多次博弈,对东亚国家的货币政策、财政政策以及汇率政策进行国际间的协调。     

东亚区域金融合作的选择探析

自从亚洲金融危机以后,东亚各国纷纷认识到开展区域金融合作的必要性,以增强抵御风险,化解危机的能力。而美元区和欧元区的相继建立既验证了最优货币区理论在实践上的可能性,也增强了东亚各国成功合作的信心。文章从合作的背景和动因,实际进展情况和最终目标,以及面临的困难这三个方面分析讨论了东亚区域金融合作的可行性,并进一步探讨了新加坡在合作中可扮演的角色。     

后危机时期东亚货币合作的路线图

后危机时期,东亚经济体面临包括全球经济复苏具有极强的不稳定性、全球新流动性形成迫使东亚新兴经济体不得不应对资本流入的风险,以及国际金融体系面临全面改革等一系列外部风险。与此同时,东亚经济体较低的投资本土倾向,外汇储备管理难题等自身的金融脆弱性,强化了外部金融风险的影响力度。本文在评估东亚货币合作必要性的基础之上分析东亚现有区域合作机制的缺欠,提出东亚货币合作的未来路径。论文认为现阶段可行的步骤是,以储备库增资和机制多边化为契机,进一步强化区域流动性机制,并在中期建立区域货币基金;大力鼓励在区内贸易、投资和金融救助中使用本币,增加新的本币计价的区域债券发行;区域汇率政策协调可以设定为一个开放性的目标,在可行的范围内考虑联合行动的必要性。     

A tale of Asian exchange rate management: Romance of the three currencies

Asian currencies lack regional policy coordination and are therefore subject to volatilities such as the Asian currency crisis of 1997/99. As the Asian currencies have already been observed to be ‘flying-in-unison’, a stable exchange rate arrangement can be helpful as the next step of evolution for regional financial stability. We consider that creating a cluster effect from coordinated efforts/policies of policy-makers can lead to regional exchange rate stability. To demonstrate this cluster effect, a three-party-game is computed for an Asian bloc, viz-á-viz US dollar and the Euro, based on a Nash and a cooperative equilibrium. The cluster effect would generate external and internal pressures that work towards the formation of a regional currency, although the exact form of exchange rate regime would have to await political consensus. There are substantial welfare gains within Asia network economy through currency cooperation. The formation of an Asian currency bloc would also create counter-balance to the current dominance of the US dollar and the Euro. Like the epic story of Three Kingdoms who sought hegemony in Chinese history, the Asian currency bloc will contend with many possible outcomes of competition as well as cooperation.     

From the Gold Standard to a Bipolar Monetary System

This paper argues that the international monetary system will evolve into a bipolar structure consisting of a dollar area and a euro area, each of which attracting other countries to their gravitational centers. A deepening and widening of NAFTA and the EU will enlarge the sphere of influence of both currencies; trade wars will restrict them. The yen is a big question mark. The deep and still unresolved financial crisis in Japan works against the enlargement of the yen; deregulation of its financial markets, with the attendant decline in transaction costs, goes in the opposite direction. Our conclusion is that the yen area will be much smaller than the dollar and the euro area and, consequently, the two large blocs will shape the international monetary system of the 21st century in a critical way. We also discuss feasible scenarios of interaction between currency blocs. A large EMU works in favor of cooperation because fewer players imply lower decision-making costs in reaching a cooperative solution. The relative closeness of the EMU and the United States, on the other hand, works against cooperation and in favor of benign neglect. Exchange-rate agreements are fragile unless supported by strong commitment to economic policy cooperation, and such a commitment may well be premature. The article advocates that the United States and EMU target common inflation rates, an idea that Keynes proposed back in 1923.