The Asian Financial Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Systemic Implications (Policy Analyses in International Economics) - Softcover

Goldstein, Morris

Softcover

ISBN 10: 088132261X ISBN 13: 9780881322613

Publisher: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 1998

Synopsis

The turmoil that rocked Asian markets after the middle of 1997 and that spread far afield was the third major currency crisis of the 1990s. Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea suffered outright recessions in 1998. In an effort to contain the crisis, almost $120 billion was pledged in IMF-led official rescue packages. How could this happen to a group of countries that has been so highly regarded in the 1990's by private international capital markets? How could the crisis be overcome, and what changes are necessary to prevent it from happening again?

Morris Goldstein provides the answers to these questions by first explaining how the Asian financial crisis arose and spread. He traces the crisis through its three interrelated origins: financial sector weaknesses; external sector problems; and the contagion that spread from Thailand to other countries. Goldstein then outlines what needed to be done in the ASEAN-4 economies, in Japan and China, and in the design of IMF-led official rescue packages to end the crisis. Goldstein's final remarks offer specific proposals for improving the international financial architecture.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The turmoil that has rocked Asian foreign exchange and equity markets over the past 10 months and that has spread far afield is the third major currency crisis of the 1990s. Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea are now expected to suffer deep recessions in 1998 and forecast growth rates in the rest of emerging Asia are either negative or well below their pre-crisis level. In an effort to contain the crisis, almost $120 billion has been pledged in IMF-led official rescue packages.

How could happen to a group of countries that has been so highly regarded in the 1990s by private international capital markets? How can the crisis be overcome and what changes are necessary to prevent it from happening again? Morris Goldstein provides the answers to these questions by first explaining how the Asian financial crisis arose and spread. He traces the crisis through its three interrelated origins: financial-sector weaknesses; external-sector problems; and the contagion that spread from Thailand to other countries. Goldstein then outlines what needs to be done in the ASEAN-4 economies, in Japan and China, and in the design of IMF-led official rescue packages to end the crisis. Goldstein's final remarks offer specific proposals for improving the international financial architecture.

About the Author

Morris Goldstein, nonresident senior fellow, has held several senior staff positions at the International Monetary Fund (1970–94), including Deputy Director of its Research Department (1987–94). From 1994 to 2010, he held the Dennis Weatherstone Senior Fellow position at the Peterson Institute. He has written extensively on international economic policy and on international capital markets.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peterson Institute for International Economics
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 088132261X
• ISBN 13: 9780881322613
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 100