How Resilient and Countercyclical Were Emerging Economies to the Global Financial Crisis?

Abstract

During the crises of the 1990s, emerging economies usually lacked the policy tools to deal with external shocks that were available to advanced economies. Worldwide turbulent episodes found most emerging economies unable to perform countercyclical policies and, in many cases, their own vulnerabilities and poor institutional frameworks amplified negative external shocks leading to sharper recessions. This paper shows that the 2008-2009 global financial crisis represents a structural break in the way emerging economies conduct their policies, with more countercyclical policies pursued before and during the global crisis. Moreover, breaking with the past, emerging economies did not fall more than developed economies during the global financial crisis, thus becoming more similar to developed economies. The resilience of emerging economies during the 2008-2009 crisis might be partly attributed to a combination of sounder macroeconomic and financial policy frameworks with a shift towards safer domestic and international financial stances.

Keywords: Currencies and Exchange Rates, Economic Theory & Research, Emerging Markets, Debt Markets, Banks & Banking Reform