The Yen and Its East Asian Neighbors, 1980-1995: Cooperation or Competition?

By looking at how an East Asian currency moves when the yen fluctuates sharply against the US dollar, we sometimes find that the reaction has been much more significant than would be suggested by the econometric estimates of the weight of the yen in nominal exchange rate determination. Moreover, the Korean won and the Malaysian ringgit have tended to move more closely with a depreciating yen, suggesting the countries' emphasis on export promotion. The Singapore dollar, on the other hand, has tended to move more closely with an appreciating yen, underscoring the importance attached to price stability. The paper concludes that, given the trend appreciation of the yen during the recent past, emphasis on price stability has contributed more to monetary cooperation in Asia than emphasis on export promotion.