The Asian Financial Crisis
Lessons for a Resilient Asia
This book analyzes the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1999. In addition to the issues of
financial system restructuring, export-led recovery, crony capitalism, and competitiveness
in Asian manufacturing, it examines six key Asian economies--China, Indonesia, Japan,
Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. The book makes clear that there is little particularly
Asian about the Asian financial crisis. The generic character of the crisis became clear
during 1998, when it reached Russia, South Africa, and Brazil. The spread of the crisis
reflects the rapid arrival of global capitalism in a world economy not used to the
integration of the advanced and developing countries.
The book makes
recommendations for reform, including the formation of regional monetary bodies, the
establishment of an international bankruptcy system, the democratization of international
organizations, the infusion of public money to revive the financial and corporate sectors
in Pacific Asia, and stronger supervision over financial institutions. The book emphasizes
a mismatch in Pacific Asia between investment in physical hardware (e.g., factories and
machinery) and in social software (e.g., scientific research centers and administrative
and judiciary systems). In a world of growing international competitiveness, concerns over
governance will weigh increasingly heavily on unreformed Asian countries. The long-term
competitiveness of Asia rests on its getting its institutions right.
294 pages