A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE ADJUSTMENTS OF GLOBAL EXTERNAL IMBALANCE SINCE THE 1980S

Global external imbalance adjustments have occurred three times in the world since the 1980's,and the adjustments differ in the backgrounds as well as the methods used.The imbalance adjustments between U.S.and Japan in the 1980s were carried out by deliberate monetary-regime design in a manner of gradualism.The imbalance adjustments of the Southeast Asia countries in the 1990s were completed by a financial crisis caused by the reversal of international portfolio investments,in a manner similar to a shock therapy.The recent external imbalance adjustments of the U.S.since 2006 have taken place in a background of global economy downturn accelerated by financial crises,and thus depend heavily on the adjustment of aggregate demand in the real economy,which implies a slow adjusting process.