On the feasibility of a regional exchange rate system for East Asia: Lessons of the 1992/1993 EMS crisis

This paper argues that a regional exchange rate system such as the EMS should not be ruled out when discussing monetary options for East Asia. The paper recalls that the 1992/1993 EMS crisis was the crisis of an exchange rate system and not just the collapse of unilateral pegs pursued by individual countries. It discusses distinct features that add to the credibility of regional exchange rate systems and reasons that a system that is built around well-defined rules and which is managed very carefully and cooperatively according to those rules could be both credible and sustainable even in the 21st century.