Recent events in East Asia have highlighted the risks of volatility and contagion in a financially integrated world. Countries in the region had been at the forefront of the movement towards increased integration but the crisis that struck Thailand in July 1997, and the rapidity with which it spread to other East Asian nations, suggested that all was not well. Weaknesses in domestic financial intermediation, poor corporate governance and deficient government responses to large capital inflows all played a role in the build-up of vulnerability. Asia-Pacific Financial Deregulation...

Recent events in East Asia have highlighted the risks of volatility and contagion in a financially integrated world. Countries in the region had been at the forefront of the movement towards increased integration but the crisis that struck Thailand in July 1997, and the rapidity with which it spread to other East Asian nations, suggested that all was not well. Weaknesses in domestic financial intermediation, poor corporate governance and deficient government responses to large capital inflows all played a role in the build-up of vulnerability. Asia-Pacific Financial Deregulation...

While the financial crisis in East Asia could be said to be on the wane in some countries, the reconstruction process in the aftermath and the debate about the financial policies best suited to the region still rages on. This book examines both of these processes in authoritative detail. It includes critical assessment of: the post-crisis state of financial markets; the banking and corporate restructuring process, with special focus on Indonesia; the policy debates currently going on in East Asia, including monetary policy; exchange rate systems and the scope for financial cooperation; and...

There is a deepening debate in East Asia about the prospects for common exchange rate arrangements, even including the formation of a common currency in the longer term. This raises a complex set of issues and this volume provides a detailed yet comprehensive examination of key issues in the debate. It looks, for example, at the nature and extent of linkages in East Asia, in terms of trade and foreign investment, finance, labour, and consumption, investment and output. It examines how the exchange rate affects various aspects of economies. And it critically analyses various proposals for...

Largely exempt from regulation and shrouded in secrecy, "hedge funds" are one of the most controversial institutions in modern finance. Presenting a balanced view of the subject. De Brouwer explains their workings using case study material from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, from 1997 to 1998. He also considers the future of hedge funds, their role for institutional investors, as well as policy proposals to limit their destabilizing effects.

Financial Intergration in East Asia explains the different methods economists use to assess how open a country's financial system is to domestic and international influences, and applies these tests to ten countries in East Asia. It explains how a country that has an open financial system differs from one that is controlled. It explains what happened in East Asia in 1997/98 and reviews the costs and benefits of open financial markets. While it has appeal for the technical reader, the book uses ordinary language and emphasizes economic intuition. The topic is relatively new and fundamentally...

Largely exempt from regulation and shrouded in secrecy, "hedge funds" are one of the most controversial institutions in modern finance. Presenting a balanced view of the subject. De Brouwer explains their workings using case study material from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, from 1997 to 1998. He also considers the future of hedge funds, their role for institutional investors, as well as policy proposals to limit their destabilizing effects.