IMF and ADB perspectives on regional surveillance in East Asia

Abstract

East Asian policy dialogue on economic and financial developments within the region and beyond it occurs in a range of forums. These include the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting, the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers’ Meeting, the ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Governors’ Meetings, the Manila Framework Group (MFG), the Executives Meeting of the East Asian and Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP), the China-Japan-Korea Finance Ministers’ Meeting, and the Four Markets Group. There is consensus in the region that there are now enough forums for policy dialogue. But there is also general agreement that many of them do not fulfil their potential as forums for substantive and effective economic monitoring and surveillance. In this context, there is an appetite to reform and strengthen some of these forums, especially the ASEAN+3, ASEAN and MFG meetings. This chapter looks at ways to strengthen monitoring and surveillance in regional policy dialogue from the perspective of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). These institutions are the core providers of much of the intellectual and logistic support for many of the meetings. They are involved in many meetings, either as presenters on recent developments or as observers. They also have their own views on, and their own interests in, the processes. The way they perceive regional surveillance may influence the way regional arrangements evolve. And as regional arrangements evolve, the roles they play may also change. The chapter is structured in the following way. The first section looks at IMF perspectives on regional surveillance. The next section looks at ADB perspectives. The final section critically examines some elements of these different perspectives. Because the regional debate on surveillance is still developing, the chapter also sets out some guidelines for how the region should assess the role of different institutions in regional debate. Show more