On Determinants of the Yen Weight in the Implicit Basket System in East Asia

After the Asian currency crisis, most Asian economies have adopted managed float regimes, with notable exception of China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Various studies have examined the weights of the dollar, the yen, and the euro, regarding floating is loosely managed with reference to the basket currency system. However, results are mixed, in that in some periods, the yen weight seems to be higher in some countries, and in some other periods, the Asian currencies seem to have gone back to the dollar peg. This paper seeks the determinants of the yen weight in Asian currencies. It is found that the yen weight tends to increase when the yen depreciates and when the domestic interest rates rise. The yen weight tends to decrease when the US interest rate rises. Asymmetry is observed among coefficients of variables between the lower and higher yen periods. In addition, the yen weight is less susceptible to the overall position of the US dollar vis-a-vis major currencies. It should also be noted that the peculiarity among countries seems large in handling the currency weights in the basket.