Monetary Policy Actions and Central Bank Transparency. Insights from ASEAN Countries and Beyond, with a Focus on the COVID-19 Era

This monograph examines the role of monetary policy and central bank transparency in responding to the economic challenges, with a focus on ASEAN countries and the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic generated an extraordinary global economic shock, disrupting production, consumption, and financial markets. In response, central banks turned to traditional and unconventional measures. ASEAN countries present a unique context for studying the effectiveness of such policies due to the heterogeneity of their monetary frameworks and the varying degrees of central bank transparency. The study utilizes a mixed-methods approach, combining a literature review, case studies, descriptive analysis, and Vector Autoregression models to assess the impact of central bank transparency and monetary policy decisions on inflation, output, and financial stability. This research contributes to a better understanding of the evolving role of transparency in economic governance and highlights lessons for emerging economies navigating post-pandemic recovery under conditions of heightened uncertainty.