Beyond the Dollar and the Euro

Reshaping the International Monetary System through Regional Monetary Cooperation in East Asia

https://doi.org/10.1142/9931 | July 2016

Pages: 176

By (author):
Yung Chul Park (Korea University, Korea) and
Il Houng Lee (Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, Korea)

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ISBN: 978-981-4749-43-5 (hardcover) USD 98.00 Add to cart

Since the 2008 global financial crisis, the debate on the reform of the international monetary system (IMS) has gained new momentum. It questioned the desirability of the current system's excessive reliance on the US dollar despite the fact that the US financial system has proven to be less than perfect, and US monetary policy stance has not been in tune with the business cycle of the rest of the world. However, attempts to reform the IMF or strengthen regional safety nets have not produced material results. With the challenges in the euro area persisting, the dollar is very likely to stay as the main reserve currency for the foreseeable future.

Against this background, this book prescribes concrete steps on how to shape an alternative monetary system that will be a win-win solution to all without having to strike an international agreement on a new global governance structure. It proposes to use the RMB — already in motion to become an international currency — to become the third pillar without the need for China to open its capital account prematurely.

For policy makers, this book will help them rethink how they can approach the problems facing the IMS. For the general readers, it will offer them a comprehensive view on what the international monetary system is about, what the problems are, and how these problems can be addressed. In particular, it will equip them with a better sense of what currencies they will need to carry when traveling around the world, or in what currencies they should hold their wealth in the coming decades.

Contents:

Introduction (Yung Chul Park)
Use of National Currencies for Trade Settlement in East Asia: A Proposal (Il Houng Lee and Yung Chul Park)
Issues and Prospects of International Monetary Reforms: East Asian Perspectives (Yung Chul Park)
The Euro-Area Sovereign Debt and Banking Crises: Perspectives from East Asia (Yung Chul Park)
Shaping the Future of the IMS: Regionalization of Selected Asian Currencies (Il Houng Lee)
Conclusion (Yung Chul Park and Il Houng Lee)

Readership: Researchers, policy analysts and policy makers who are interested in reforming the current international monetary system.

Yung Chul Park is a distinguished professor in the division of international studies, Korea University. He previously served as the chief economic adviser to the President of Korea, as president of the Korea Development Institute, and as president of the Korea Institute of Finance. He also worked for the International Monetary Fund. He has written and edited several books, including Monetary and Financial Cooperation in East Asia: The Relevance of European Experience (Oxford University Press, 2010).

Il Houng Lee is the president of KIEP. He is also a visiting professor at Jilin University in China. He served as the Ambassador for International Cooperation and G20 Sherpa of Republic of Korea in 2013–2015. Prior to his appointment as the Ambassador, he was with the IMF for more than 20 years. He earned his BA in Economics at LSE and a PhD in Economics at Warwick University in the UK. His latest publication is Bretton Woods: The Next 70 Years (Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, 2015).