How resilient is ASEAN-5 to trade shocks? A comparison of regional and global shocks

This article studies the resilience of the ASEAN region to external shocks amid the unfolding effects of the USA–China trade war. It investigates and compares the effects of regional (ASEAN) and global (USA, China) shocks on ASEAN-5 using a Structural VAR (SVAR) framework. To identify the propagation of economic shocks and spillovers on ASEAN-5, the changing trade links between the economies considered are used to account for time variations spanning the period 1978Q1–2018Q2. Three major results follow from the analyses on trade links and output multiplier effects. First, the response of ASEAN-5 to shocks from the USA and China were more pronounced than regional shocks for the period after the Asian financial crisis. Second, the increasing cumulative impact of China’s shock on ASEAN was congruous to the growing trade links and trade intensities between ASEAN and China. Third, the USA and China were dominant growth drivers for the weaker trade-linked ASEAN partners. Taken together, the results suggest that global shocks matter for the region, and the economic resilience of the region to global shocks depends on indirect effects apart from the direct trade links

How resilient is ASEAN-5 to trade shocks? Regional and global shocks compared

This paper revisits the resilience of the ASEAN region to external shocks amidst the unfolding effects of the US-China trade war. It investigates and compares the effects of regional(ASEAN) and global (US, China) shocks on ASEAN-5 using a structural VAR framework. To identify the propagation of economic shocks and spillovers on ASEAN-5, the changing trade links between the economies considered are used to account for time variations spanning the period 1978Q1 to 2018Q2. Three major results follow from the analyses on trade links and output multiplier effects. First, the response of ASEAN-5 to shocks from the US and China were more pronounced than regional shocks for the period after the Asian financial crisis. Second, the increasing cumulative impact of China's shock on ASEAN was congruous to the growing trade links and trade intensities between ASEAN and China. Third, the US and China were dominant growth drivers for the weaker trade-linked ASEAN partners. Taken together, the results suggest that global shocks matter for the region, and the economic resilience of the region to global shocks depends on indirect effects, apart from the direct trade links

China and ASEAN: Pivoting Trade and Shock Transmission

This book highlights the critical relationship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) associated with its trade interdependency. As the largest trade partner in the region, China has not only presented itself with opportunities for ASEAN to tap its market, but also created great challenges for the region. The fundamental question that this book addresses, therefore, is whether China’s engagement with ASEAN comes at a cost for the latter following from the systemic risks tied to the China-centric supply chains in the region. The trade interactions between China and ASEAN, though extensively explored, are less understood in the context of its influence over the region amidst the recent changing dynamics that follow from China’s global engagement and backlash from major powers. The book therefore resolutely rises against stereotypes and clichés, making readers reconsider many oversimplified assumptions of the benefits of trade engagement where economies are interconnected through complex production chains

Cross-country linkages between ASEAN and non-ASEAN-RCEP member states: a global VAR analysis

The complex global value chains underlying the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) raise an important question on the macroeconomic (output, inflation, exchange rate, and interest rate) exposure of ASEAN to output shocks in the non-ASEAN-RCEP members, within the context of expanded regional architecture. This paper uses quarterly data from 1995 to 2018 to estimate a global vector autoregressive (GVAR) model, specially constructed for the RCEP. The GVAR model disentangles the effects and spillovers from output shocks originating in the non-ASEAN-RCEP through various trade channels – direct and indirect, and total exports and foreign value-added (FVA). The model also quantifies the impact of global (the price of oil and materials) shocks on ASEAN through trade linkages. The output shocks in the non-ASEAN-RCEP have persistent effects on output growth in ASEAN when transmitted through the intermediary FVA channel than the export channel. The FVA channel is also important for propagating global shocks in the form of oil and material prices. The findings confirm that output in ASEAN is also highly exposed to output shocks originating in the non-ASEAN-RCEP economies. The FVA trade channel is vital for explaining the spillovers from the regional output shocks and global price shocks