This paper discusses the "miracle" phase of Asian economic growth and assesses the extent to which conventional economic analysis explains it. Was the East Asian miracle as miraculous after all? It then examines the "crisis" or "meltdown" phase, and assesses a number of hypotheses that have been...

The East Asian crisis of 1997 sparked an extensive literature in an effort to explain the causes and spread of heightened foreign exchange (FX) market pressures in the region. In this paper we model FX movements and calculate spillover effects covering the extended period between 1990 and 2004....

Two features of East Asia?s recovery from the financial turmoil of 1997-98 appear to be rather paradoxical. First, the regional economies (except Hong Kong, China and Malaysia) have allowed a relatively greater albeit modest degree of variability of their currencies according to market...

In determining the maturity structure of bank loans in the presence of pre-determined short-term international liabilities, we show that maturity mismatches in banks’ balance sheets are fully consistent with the assumption of banks acting as self-interested, optimising agents. Although often...

The conventional wisdom is that crises are largely due to swings in short-term capital (mainly bank loans in the case of East Asia). Hence economies that finance their current account deficits mainly via foreign direct investment (FDI) are seen as being less susceptible to a crisis. The spate of...

Increasing capital inflows and sustained interest rate spreads were important features in East Asia prior to the crisis of 1997-98. But why did capital inflows fail to eliminate interest rate differentials? Why were inflows associated with rising domestic interest rates that then perpetuated the...

Two features of East Asia’s recovery from the financial turmoil of 1997- 98 appear to be rather paradoxical. First, the regional economies (except Hong Kong, China and Malaysia) have allowed a relatively greater albeit modest degree of variability of their currencies according to market...

To what extent and within what time frame did countries in East Asia recover from the 1997-98 crisis, and, if there has been a recovery, can it be sustained? Drawing on the available evidence, this paper attempts to answer these questions. By implication, however, it also has something to say...