Have Exchange Rate Regimes in Asia Become More Flexible Post Crisis? Re-visiting the Evidence

There is a broad consensus that the soft US dollar pegs operated by a number of Asian countries prior to 1997 contributed to the regional financial crisis of 1997-98. There is, however, much less agreement on the types of exchange rate regimes operated by many Asian countries since the crisis. Can they still be characterized as soft US dollar pegs, or have they become genuinely more flexible? This paper revisits the evidence regarding the extent of exchange rate flexibility in the five Asian countries (Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand) post crisis using alternative methodologies and data up to mid 2004. Using alternative methodologies is critical as different measures or parameters could lead to diametrically opposite conclusions regarding the type of exchange rate regime operated by a country.