From the Chiang Mai Initiative to an Asian Monetary Fund
Kawai, Masahiro | May 2015
Abstract
Following the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis, financial authorities in ASEAN+3 embarked on several new initiatives for East Asia’s financial cooperation, including: (i) regional economic surveillance led by the Economic Review and Policy Dialogue (ERPD); (ii) a regional liquidity support facility, called the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI); and (iii) local-currency bond market development. The global financial crisis of 2007–2009 demonstrated the need to further strengthen East Asian financial cooperation. This paper summarizes and evaluates the progress of regional financial cooperation, particularly the ERPD, the CMI and its subsequent multilateralization (CMIM), and the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO). It identifies the challenges in strengthening the CMIM, ERPD, and AMRO and suggests that the CMIM and AMRO be transformed into an Asian monetary fund (AMF). The paper argues that for an AMF to emerge, ASEAN+3 authorities need to: (i) contribute part of their foreign exchange reserves to the fund; (ii) establish a secretariat in charge of all aspects of the CMIM, including its activation; and (iii) delink the CMIM from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs by upgrading their capacity to conduct regional surveillance, formulate independent conditionality associated with crisis lending, and monitor policy and economic performance. In the transition period, eligible member countries should be allowed to have more flexible access to the CMIM facility. The CMIM and AMRO should work with the IMF to promote East Asian financial stability, but at the same time the IMF needs to undertake significant operational and governance reforms so that it regains the trust of emerging economy members in the region.
Citation
Kawai, Masahiro. 2015. From the Chiang Mai Initiative to an Asian Monetary Fund. © Asian Development Bank Institute. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/9645.Keywords
Regional Development Finance
Public Scrutiny of City Finances
Non-Bank Financial Institutions
Local Government Finance
Government Financial Institutions
Foreign and Domestic Financing
Financial Risk Management
Assessing Corporate Governance
Good Governance
Governance Approach
Finance
Public Finance
Governance
National Budget
Budgetary Policy
Educational Budget
Public Financial Management
Financial System
Financial Statistics
Public Accounting
Business Financing
Subsidies
Social Equity
Economic Equity
Project Risks
Project Impact
Public Administration
Corporations
Taxation
Public Debt
Local Government
Debt Management
Corporate debt
Taxation
Public Accounting
National Budget
Municipal Bonds
Local Government
Taxation
Public Debt
Local Government
Debt Management
Pension Funds
Mutual Funds
Social Equity
Financial Aspects
Fiscal Policy
Investment Requirements
Banks
|Taxing power
Tax administration and procedure
Tax policy
Effect of taxation on labor supply
Decentralization in government
Community power
Corporate divestment
Civil government
Delegation of powers
Equality
Neighborhood government
Subnational governments
Delivery of government services
Local taxation
Options
Government
Local government
Taxation
Employee pension trusts
Investment management
Investments
Multiemployer pension plans
Keogh plans
Individual retirement accounts
Pension plans
Employee pension trusts
Pension trusts
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