Global lessons of the economic crisis in Asia

Publication Date: January 1998

Publisher: East-West Center

Author(s): Manuel F. Montes

Research Area: Economics

Type: Report

Coverage: Asia

Abstract:

The economic crisis in Asia is not an "Asian" crisis. The conditions that precipitated it are by no means unique to the region. They have their roots in badly managed government liberalization of the financial sector, excessive borrowing and lending by private industry, and the inability and unwillingness of key players including governments to accurately assess risk. The resulting collapse of domestic asset values (real estate, stock market prices) and currencies is a phenomenon already seen in the 1990s in Europe, Latin America, and now Asia. With the cost of bailout packages ballooning, everyone has a stake in improving crisis prevention and response. Governments, international organizations, and domestic banks must coordinate efforts that should include: easier access to information in the financial industry, increased government oversight of private financial institutions, more flexibility in exchange rates, greater control by public authorities over the short-term flow of capital among countries. Finally, private companies that take excessive risk in financial markets should be forced to bear the costs of their own actions.