This book shares essential insights into the implementation of monetary policy in various East Asian countries. Highlighting case studies from China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Singapore, leading economists and practitioners from central banks illustrate how dependent effective monetary policy is on the institutional and financial market environment, as well as on successful implementation and communication. The respective contributions cover various aspects of monetary policy implementation, such as: How is inflation targeting handled? For what purposes and how do central banks operate on financial markets, and what are the (at times unintended) effects? How do currency market interventions help achieve the monetary policy targets set by individual countries or areas? In addition, Asian experiences are contrasted with those from the Eurozone.

This book explores financial stability issues in the context of East Asia. In the East Asian region financial stability has been a major concern ever since the Asian crisis of 1997/98, which still looms large in the collective memory of the affected countries. The global crisis, which had its starting point in 2007, only served to exacerbate this concern. Safeguarding financial stability is therefore a major goal of any country in the region. Diverging cultural, political and economic backgrounds may however pose different stability challenges and necessary cooperation may be complicated by this diversity. Against this backdrop the contributions of this book by leading academics from the fields of economics and law as well as by practitioners from central banks shed light on various financial stability issues. The volume explores the legal environment of central banks as lenders of last resort and analyzes challenges to financial stability such as shadow banking and the choice of exchange rate regimes. Case studies from China, Japan and Indonesia are contrasted with experiences from Europe.

This book presents contributions by leading academics and practitioners from central banks to shed light on the function and impact of cash in Asian countries. It explores the impact of cash on society, the role of cash in monetary policy, and the future of cash in various monetary systems, contrasting case studies from China, Japan, Korea, and Singapore with experiences from Europe. Recently the role of cash in the economy has become a much-discussed topic in Europe, but the issue is also of considerable relevance in Asia. Singapore and South Korea, for example, are relatively advanced in the use of cashless payments for daily exchanges, while countries like Japan still largely rely on cash for a wide range of transactions. Some economists argue for the abolition of cash so as to facilitate transactions, reduce the monetary scope of criminal transactions, and expand the available options for monetary policy through negative interest rates. Opposing voices claim that such a step would reduce the freedom of individuals and lead to a greater potential for monetary repression. The abolition of cash could also significantly impact the public's monetary psychology, thereby influencing their inflation expectations, portfolio structure, saving behavior, and other important monetary parameters.

This book explores the opportunities and limits of currency cooperation in East Asia. Currency issues play an important role in the region. The Asian crisis of the late 90s was rooted in deficient currency arrangements. The Chinese RMB is not freely convertible yet, but policymakers in China nevertheless aim for a more international role of the Chinese currency. The recent change of direction in Japanese monetary policy caused a drastic depreciation of the Yen and led to warnings against a possible "currency war", thus demonstrating that currency issues can also easily lead to political frictions. Most trade in and with the East Asian zone on the other hand is still conducted in US $. Against this background different modes of currency cooperation serve the goal of smoothing exchange rate fluctuations and capital flows. They are an important element to promote financial stability and to reduce the transaction cost for foreign trade or investment. The contributions of this book analyze the environment and design of currency cooperation in East Asia and their effects from a macro-and microeconomic viewpoint.

This book shares essential insights into the implementation of monetary policy in various East Asian countries. Highlighting case studies from China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Singapore, leading economists and practitioners from central banks illustrate how dependent effective monetary policy is on the institutional and financial market environment, as well as on successful implementation and communication. The respective contributions cover various aspects of monetary policy implementation, such as: How is inflation targeting handled? For what purposes and how do central banks operate on financial markets, and what are the (at times unintended) effects? How do currency market interventions help achieve the monetary policy targets set by individual countries or areas? In addition, Asian experiences are contrasted with those from the Eurozone.