CEMC
Most of the currency crises of the 1990s happened against soft currency pegs. In the wake of the Asian currency crisis, I made a stab at creating a model which focused on how exchange rates typically performed in the run to and after the break down of a pegged exchange rate regime. For good or ill, the Classic Emerging Market Currency Crisis (CEMC) model was the result. To be sure, the title is a mouthful, but for the most part it tells the story of most emerging market currency crises during the 1990s and thus may serve as a useful barometer should any such crises be experienced going forward. This can be broken down into five phases during which the currency crisis takes place:
1. Capital inflows and real currency appreciation
2. Fundamental deterioration and inevitable currency collapse
3. A positive current account swing and a liquidity-based rally
4. The economy hits bottom; a period of consolidation
5. The fundamental rally
A key aspect of these crises was the relationship between the real exchange rate and the external balance. In floating exchange rate regimes, economic imbalances are usually smoothed out over time. In pegged exchange rate regimes, they can build up to unsustainable levels, thus forcing the collapse of the exchange rate peg, if not checked by changes in macroeconomic policy.