This paper examines the costs, benefits, preconditions, and implications of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional currency arrangement that is assumed to culminate in a regional currency. On economic criteria, ASEAN appears less suited for a regional currency arrangement than Europe before the Maastricht Treaty, although the difference is not large. The transition to European Monetary Union (EMU) indicates that the path toward a common currency is fraught with difficulty. A firm political commitment would seem to be vital to ensuring that an attempt to form a regional currency arrangement is not viewed as simply another fixed exchange rate regime, open to speculative crises.

A coordinated action by East Asian countries to stabilize their currencies against a common basket of major currencies (broadly representative of their average structure of trade and foreign direct investment) would help stabilize both intraregional exchange rates and effective exchange rates, in a way consistent with the medium-term objective of promoting trade investment and growth in the region.

This book deals with exchange rate arrangements and exchange rate policies. Chapter 2 classifies exchange rates into flexible, intermediate and rigid arrangements. The book is subdivided into an arrangement of free float, managed float, pegged but adjustable, target zone, crawling peg, hard peg, currency board, dollarisation, and monetary union. This chapter also discusses hypothesis of vanishing intermediate exchange rate arrangements as well as it deals with differentiation between de jure, and de facto exchange rate arrangements. Chapter 3 deals with the issue of choosing an appropriate exchange rate arrangement. The book briefly characterises basic approaches of how to choose an exchange rate regime. Furthermore, the book reviews considerations stemming from the optimum currency area literature. Chapter 4 deals with problems of exchange rate, which were encountered by the most developed transition countries. After discussing the initial stabilisation problems of the early 1990s, it provides a general overview of the macroeconomic situation and exchange rates arrangements in these countries in the period 1990-2004. Also the book discusses issues connected with the future introduction of the euro into these countries. Chapter 5 provides the reader with two case studies. First, a discussion of the Czech experience in the transition period till the crisis in May 1997 is presented. Second, a discussion of the Hungarian experience concerning banking and exchange rate policy in the 1990s till the early years of this century. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses different historical periods from the viewpoint of currency arrangements.

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The Annual Report on Exchange Arrangements and Exchange Restrictions (AREAER) has been published by the IMF since 1950. It is a unique publication based on a database maintained by the IMF that tracks exchange arrangements and foreign exchange systems for all member countries on an annual basis and also provides historical information on these. The introduction to the volume provides a summary of recent global trends and developments in the areas covered by the publication. Individual country chapters report exchange measures in place, the structure and setting of the exchange rate, arrangements for payments and receipts, procedures for resident and nonresident accounts, mechanisms for import and export payments and receipts, controls on capital transactions, and provisions specific to the financial sector. A separate section in each chapter lists changes made during 2005 and the first part of 2006. The AREAER draws on information made available to the IMF from a number of sources, including during official staff visits to member countries, and has been prepared in close consultation with national authorities. The information is presented in a tabular format.

This book shows how regional cooperation and integration have increased massively in scale and scope in recent years, as developing countries seek new ways to shield themselves from economic turbulence and to kick-start their economies in the face of stagnant global demand. The trend is partly a defense mechanism against the limitations of the international financial system, but also reflects a wider search for new and different growth paths more appropriate with developing countries’ increasing economic and political voice. As a consequence, the landscape of financial and monetary mechanisms has changed dramatically, especially in the ten years since the economic crisis of 2007–2008.

Following the global financial crisis of 2008-09, regional financing arrangements (RFAs) have been recognized as an important layer of the global financial safety net. This paper summarizes the current landscape of RFAs, and discusses IMF-RFA coordination to date and options for enhancing cooperation going forward. In so doing, it intends to contribute to discussions underway at international fora and solicit views from the Fund and RFA memberships on how to enhance cooperation

The exchange and trade systems of 184 IMF member countries are presented in this comprehensive volume in a tabular format. There is expanded coverage of the regulatory framework for capital movements. The information generally relates to the end of 1997 but also covers significant developments in early 1998. Published in September.

This report discusses developments in the international exchange rate and restrictive systems. The period covered by this report is 1986 and, for major developments, the first quarter of 1987. The report highlights that in 1986, protectionist pressures for trade restrictions in the industrial countries continued to be fueled by large and widening bilateral trade imbalances, persistently high levels of unemployment, and a widespread slowing of economic growth. In spite of continued resistance by some governments, quantitative restrictions were tightened in many industrial countries. There were nevertheless several positive developments in the trade and exchange system.