In this important new book, C.H. Kwan asks whether the Japanese yen can, or will, replace the dollar as the key currency in East Asia. Kwan analyzes the implications for Japan and Asia's developing countries should they come together to form a yen bloc -a grouping of countries that use the yen as an international currency and maintain stable exchange rates against the yen. Combining academic analysis with his experience advising the Japanese prime minister and the Japanese minister of finance, Kwan concludes that a yen bloc might benefit Asia's developing countries -as well as Japan -while contributing to a more stable international monetary order. Kwan's book represents the first attempt to explore systematically the possibility of monetary integration in Asia. It also provides a vision for regional integration in Asia in the twenty-first century.
C. H. Kwan is a Senior Fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) and the author of several books, including Economic Interdependence in the Asia-Pacific Region (Routledge, 1994); and Yen Bloc (Brookings, 2001).
"This worthwhile book is a useful primer that explores succinctly one of the more critical questions of a new century." Gerald Horne, Book Review (?), 1/1/2002 |"'Yen Bloc' lend[s] powerful credence to the creation of a zone of exchange rate stability in Asia to counter the destabilizing gyrations of the yen/dollar exchange rate." B. Lucarelli, University of Western Sydney, Journal of Contemporary Asia Publishers, v.32 no.4, 2002 |"'Yen Bloc'... lend[s] powerful credence to the creation of a zone of exchange rate stability in Asia to counter the destabilizing gyrations of the yen/dollar exchange rate." Bill Lucarelli, University of Western Sydney, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy 7(3) 2002 |"At a time of continuing global financial turbulence, when East Asian countries are taking the possibility of greater monetary cooperation more seriously, this book provides a very useful introduction to Japanese and regional perspectives." Mark Beeson, University of Queensland, Pacific Affairs, 3/1/2003 |"Clearly written and logically presented, 'Yen Bloc: Toward Economic Integration in Asia' is probably one of the most comprehensive attempts at discussing the possibility of a monetary union in Asia." Fung Kwan, China Quarterly, 12/1/2002 |"This is an important book.... Kwan's book is a must-read.... It is one of the clearest and best-written expositions of those who propose deeper financial and monetary integration through the formation of a yen bloc." Gordon de Brouwer, Australian National University, Journal of Japanese Studies (29:1) 2003 |"Kwan's book provides a very useful introduction not just to the economics of a yen bloc but also to the economics of monetary cooperation, to changes in Japan's economic relations with East Asia, and to the current problems of the Japanese economy." International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
