This paper contrasts the United States (US) and European situations during the crisis and examines how much of the crisis has been imported by Europe from the US. The paper argues that Europe never had a chance to avoid contagion from the US. It also documents the relatively limited reaction of...

In this paper we construct two measures of the monetary policy stance. The stance of monetary policy, regarded as a quantitative measure of whether Te policy is too tight, neutral, or too loose relative to objectives of stable prices and output growth, is useful and important for at least two...

Capital flows to emerging market economies (EMEs) have been characterized by high volatility since the 1980s. In recent years (especially since 2003), although gross as well as net capital flows to the EMEs have increased, they could not be absorbed domestically. Overall, savings have flowed...

In this paper, we examine capital account openness and exchange rate exibility in 11 Asian countries. Asia has made slow progress on de jure capital account openness, but has made much more progress on de facto capital account openness. While there is a slow pace of increase in exchange rate...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to benefit from the significant growth in the Asia-Pacific payments market. Growth in economic activity would increase the size, scale, and scope of payment transactions. Enabling the scale and scope of payments would in turn...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to benefit from the significant growth in the Asia-Pacific payments market. Growth in economic activity would increase the size, scale, and scope of payment transactions. Enabling the scale and scope of payments would in turn...

We examine determinants of inflation in China. Analyses of both yearonyear and monthonmonth growth data confirm excess liquidity, output gap, housing prices and stock prices positively affecting inflation. Impulse response analyses indicate that most effects occur during the initial five months...

Asian economies have undergone significant transformation since 1997/98 financial crisis. In order to reduce risks of balance of payment crisis, Asian policymakers introduced a number of policy reforms, including promotion of current account surpluses, accumulation of foreign reserves and some...

Among other things, the 199798 East Asian financial crisis has led to questioning within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) about whether the region needs a common currency. This paper aims to discuss the underlying economic issues and prospects, from both a theoretical and a...

The new-style currency crises that have inflicted a number of developing and emerging economies of late are characterized by sudden stops in capital inflows and adverse balance sheet effects. Given the potential high costs of these crises, there remains an ongoing debate on how they might best...