A Roadmap for Policy Dialogue and Economic Surveillance in East Asia

I. IntroductionOn 4th May, 2005, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Japan and Korea(ASEAN+3) decided to take a significant step toward financial cooperation in East Asia.The Finance Ministers of the 13 ASEAN+3 countries agreed to strengthen the Chiang MaiInitiative (CMI) into a more effective and disciplined framework by: (1) integrating the CMIwith an enhanced economic surveillance process for the ASEAN+3 countries; (2) adoptinga collective activation and decisio…

A Roadmap for Policy Dialogue and Economic Surveillance in East Asia

This paper deals with the forward-looking framework of policy dialogue and economicsurveillance in East Asia, based on analysis of the necessities, constraints and difficulties,together with criteria for effective surveillance. It proposes a roadmap for strengthening themechanism for surveillance in East Asia, with the emphases on defining different phases,designing possible approaches and identifying the key elements for better surveillance in theregion. The study suggests that there should be three phases for forming strong institutionalizedregional surveillance. It also discusses possible moves in the second phase with focus on theimportance of specifying surveillance coverage and improving statistical infrastructure.The paper points out that the success of establishing a firmly institutionalized surveillancemechanism in East Asia, to a large extent, relies on a common understanding among thecountries in the region on the following issues: the necessity of a common monetary regime,the vital importance of statistical infrastructure and the essential elements of politicalconsideration.