IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/worlde/v32y2009i12p1685-1705.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Political Economic Critique on the Theory of Optimum Currency Areas, and the Implications for East Asia

Author

Listed:
  • Hyoung‐kyu Chey

Abstract

In recent years, dynamic debate has arisen as to the desirability and feasibility of creating a monetary union in East Asia. While the debate has relied heavily on the theory of optimum currency areas, this theory has weaknesses in explaining the actual formation of monetary unions. At this point, political economy analysis appears to demonstrate stronger explanatory power. This paper provides a systematic review of the main developments in the literature on optimum currency area theory and in the political economy literature on monetary union. In addition, it addresses the feasibility of an East Asian monetary union, by applying the findings in these two academic strands to the region. It finds that even though formation of an East Asian monetary union may be to some extent feasible from an economic perspective, the region’s political situation does not appear favourable for the creation of one.

Suggested Citation

  • Hyoung‐kyu Chey, 2009. "A Political Economic Critique on the Theory of Optimum Currency Areas, and the Implications for East Asia," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(12), pages 1685-1705, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:32:y:2009:i:12:p:1685-1705
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9701.2009.01200.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2009.01200.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2009.01200.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frankel, Jeffrey A & Rose, Andrew K, 1998. "The Endogeneity of the Optimum Currency Area Criteria," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(449), pages 1009-1025, July.
    2. Reuven Glick, 2005. "Does Europe's path to monetary union provide lessons for East Asia?," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue aug12.
    3. Matthew Gabel & Simon Hix, 2005. "Understanding Public Support for British Membership of the Single Currency," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 53, pages 65-81, March.
    4. Hallerberg, Mark, 2002. "Veto Players and the Choice of Monetary Institutions," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 775-802, October.
    5. Carsten Strøby Jensen, 2000. "Neofunctionalist Theories and the Development of European Social and LabourMarket Policy," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 71-92, March.
    6. Paul De Grauwe, 2014. "What Have We Learnt about Monetary Integration since the Maastricht Treaty?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Exchange Rates and Global Financial Policies, chapter 11, pages 273-296, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Rogoff, Kenneth, 2005. "The euro at five: Short-run pain, long-run gain?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 441-443, June.
    8. Paul De Grauwe, 2006. "What Have we Learnt about Monetary Integration since the Maastricht Treaty?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44, pages 711-730, November.
    9. Matthew Gabel & Simon Hix, 2005. "Understanding Public Support for British Membership of the Single Currency," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 53(1), pages 65-81, March.
    10. Frieden, Jeffry A., 2002. "Real Sources of European Currency Policy: Sectoral Interests and European Monetary Integration," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 831-860, October.
    11. Sandholtz, Wayne, 1993. "Choosing union: monetary politics and Maastricht," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(1), pages 1-39, January.
    12. Ronald I. McKinnon, 2004. "Optimum Currency Areas and Key Currencies: Mundell I versus Mundell II," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 689-715, November.
    13. Mongelli, Francesco Paolo, 2002. "ìNew" Views on the Optimum Currency Area Theory: What is EMU Telling US?," Royal Economic Society Annual Conference 2002 140, Royal Economic Society.
    14. Huang, Ying & Guo, Feng, 2006. "Is currency union a feasible option in East Asia?: A multivariate structural VAR approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 77-94, March.
    15. Nikiforos Laopodis, 2001. "International Interest-Rate Transmission and the “German Dominance Hypothesis” Within EMS," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 347-377, October.
    16. Eric Girardin, 2004. "Regime-Dependent Synchronization of Growth Cycles between Japan and East Asia," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 3(3), pages 147-176.
    17. Bernhard, William & Leblang, David, 1999. "Democratic Institutions and Exchange-rate Commitments," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 71-97, January.
    18. Kwack, Sung Yeung, 2004. "An optimum currency area in East Asia: feasibility, coordination, and leadership role," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 153-169, February.
    19. Frankel, Jeffrey A. & Rose, Andrew K., 1997. "Is EMU more justifiable ex post than ex ante?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 753-760, April.
    20. Bayoumi, Tamim & Eichengreen, Barry & Mauro, Paolo, 2000. "On Regional Monetary Arrangements for ASEAN," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 121-148, June.
    21. Paul De Grauwe, 1993. "The Political Economy of Monetary Union in Europe," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(6), pages 653-661, November.
    22. Chow, Hwee Kwan & Kim, Yoonbai, 2003. "A common currency peg in East Asia? Perspectives from Western Europe," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 331-350, September.
    23. Broz, J. Lawrence, 2002. "Political System Transparency and Monetary Commitment Regimes," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 861-887, October.
    24. By Norman Loayza & Humberto Lopez & Angel Ubide, 2001. "Comovements and Sectoral Interdependence: Evidence for Latin America, East Asia, and Europe," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 48(2), pages 1-7.
    25. Frieden, Jeffry A., 1991. "Invested interests: the politics of national economic policies in a world of global finance," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 425-451, October.
    26. Jupille, Joseph & Leblang, David, 2007. "Voting for Change: Calculation, Community, and Euro Referendums," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(4), pages 763-782, October.
    27. George S. Tavlas, 2003. "The Economics of Exchange‐Rate Regimes: A Review Essay," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1215-1246, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nagayasu, Jun, 2010. "Macroeconomic interdependence in East Asia," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 219-227, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Watanabe, Shingo & Ogura, Masanobu, 2010. "How far apart are the two ACUs from each other? Asian currency unit and Asian currency union," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 152-172, June.
    2. Shingo Watanabe & Masanobu Ogura, 2006. "How Far Apart Are Two ACUs from Each Other? : Asian Currency Unit and Asian Currency Union," Bank of Japan Working Paper Series 06-E-20, Bank of Japan.
    3. Woosik Moon & Yeongseop Rhee, 2012. "Asian Monetary Integration," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14191.
    4. Handler, Heinz, 2013. "The eurozone: piecemeal approach to an optimum currency area," MPRA Paper 67183, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Thomas Plümper and Eric Neumayer, 2008. "Exchange Rate Regime Choice with Multiple Key Currencies," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp264, IIIS.
    6. Marc-Alexandre Sénégas, 2010. "La théorie des zones monétaires optimales au regard de l'euro : Quels enseignements après dix années d'union économique et monétaire en Europe ?," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 120(2), pages 379-419.
    7. Kuokštis, Vytautas & Asali, Muhammad & Spurga, Simonas Algirdas, 2022. "Labor market flexibility and exchange rate regimes," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. de Truchis, Gilles & Keddad, Benjamin, 2013. "Southeast Asian monetary integration: New evidences from fractional cointegration of real exchange rates," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 394-412.
    9. Mohd Hussain Kunroo, 2015. "Theory of Optimum Currency Areas," Review of Market Integration, India Development Foundation, vol. 7(2), pages 87-116, August.
    10. Cécile Couharde & Cyriac Guillaumin, 2011. "Chocs externes et perspective d'union monétaire en Asie de l'Est : les enseignements d'un modèle VAR structurel," Post-Print halshs-00632373, HAL.
    11. Plümper, Thomas & Neumayer, Eric, 2011. "Fear of floating and de facto exchange rate pegs with multiple key currencies," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 40052, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Louis Sevitenyi Nkwatoh & Yahya Zakari Abdullahi & Chika Usman Aliyu, 2019. "Past and Current European Monetary Union Crises: Lessons for the Envisaged West African Monetary Union," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 9(4), pages 50-59.
    13. Hyoung-kyu Chey, 2013. "The Concepts, Consequences, and Determinants of Currency Internationalization," GRIPS Discussion Papers 13-03, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
    14. Abban, Stanley, 2020. "Currency Union as a Panacea for ills in Africa: A New Institutional Framework and Theoretical Consideration," MPRA Paper 105459, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Mogaji, Peter Kehinde, 2015. "Review of Architectural Flaws of the EMU: What Eurozone Crisis Lessons for the Proposed ‘Afrozone’?," MPRA Paper 99334, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Mohd Hussain Kunroo & Irfan Ahmad Sofi & Naushad Ali Azad, 2016. "Trade implications of the Euro in EMU countries: a panel gravity analysis," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 43(2), pages 391-413, May.
    17. Hsiufen Hsu, 2009. "Is a common currency area feasible for East Asia? A multivariate structural VAR approach," OSIPP Discussion Paper 09E006, Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University.
    18. Hideaki Hirata & M. Ayhan Kose & Chris Otrok, "undated". "Regionalization vs. Globalization," Working Paper 164456, Harvard University OpenScholar.
    19. Soós, Károly Attila, 2021. "Az optimális valutaövezet két elmélete - aszimmetrikus sokkok és nemzetközi pénzügyi integráció [Principles of optimal currency areas: asymmetric shocks and international financial integration]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(12), pages 1250-1275.
    20. Sara Binzer Hobolt & Patrick Leblond, 2009. "Is My Crown Better than Your Euro?," European Union Politics, , vol. 10(2), pages 202-225, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:32:y:2009:i:12:p:1685-1705. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0378-5920 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.