• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.177-187
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• 2022

Theoretical literature agrees on the interaction between financial instability and economic activity but explains it's dynamic in two points of view: one is that the transmission mechanism occurs in one unique regime and the other reckons a shift of regime leads to the alteration of the transmission mechanism. This study aims to find evidence of the multi-regime transmission for ASEAN developing countries. The author employs the technique of Threshold vector auto regression using the financial stress index standing for financial instability. Monthly data is collected, covering a period long enough with many episodes of high stress in recent decades. There are two conclusions: (1) A financial shock has a negative and stronger impact on economic activity during a high-stress period than it does during a low-stress period; (2) the response of economic activity to a negative financial shock during high-stress periods is stronger than it is during normal times. The findings point to the importance of the financial stress index as an additional early warning indicator for the real economy sector, as well as the positive effect that a reduction in financial stress may have on economic activity, implying the importance of "unconventional" monetary policy in times of high financial stress.