Living with Macro-financial Linkages: Policy Perspectives and Challenges for SEACEN Countries

Abstract

The deepening financial liberalisation and the tightening of financial integration globally have made it more challenging to manage macroeconomic policies in general, and to contain the spread of financial turbulence in particular. The financial sector has been shown to be inherently pro-cyclical and capable of amplifying macroeconomic volatilities, making management of monetary policy increasingly complex. In these ever changing financial landscapes, the success of monetary policy and macroeconomic policies, in general, hinges on the ability of policy makers to design policies that explicitly take into account macro-financial channels, and to interpret more cautiously the potential risk in financial system disruptions that can rapidly destabilise macroeconomic stability. The objective of this study is to take stock and examine the impact of linkages between macroeconomic development and financial market condition with a special focus on the SEACEN economies.