Following the disastrous economic downturn of some years ago, the economies of East Asia have struggled to regain stability and equilibrium. As the sequel to East Asia: The Road to Recovery, this book offers both an examination of the state of the East Asian economy and analysis of opportunites in the future. With the crisis stage passed, where does East Asia truly stand, and can one be optimistic about its future prospects? East Asia: Recovery and Beyond offers answers to anyone concerned with the East Asian economies.

This book traces the impact of the global financial crisis on East Asia, and the way that key regional states responded to the crisis. It considers the extent to which the region is decoupling from the global economy (or the West), the impact of crises on the definition of "region", and the effectiveness and functioning of regional institutions and governance mechanisms (including environmental governance). A key focus of the book is the increasing legitimacy of statist alternatives to (neo)liberal development strategies and modes of governance – or perhaps more correctly, the extent to which the legitimacy of "western" norms and practices have been delegitimized by the crisis. This book was originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Politics

This study examines the social impact of the Asian financial crisis which began in July 1997. Several countries experienced an economic shock of unprecedented severity after decades of uninterrupted growth. The severe rise in unemployment and its repercussions in the worst-affected countries (Thailand, Republic of Korea and Indonesia) overwhelmed the underdeveloped systems of social protection. Higher unemployment and inflation combined to push many people into poverty. A central policy message is that current programmes of policy and institutional reform following the crisis, should include a basic rethinking of the social dimension of the future model of development. The author also argues for the introduction of unemployment insurance, the expansion of social assistance and the strengthening of active labour market policies.

Spanning 20 years of history, the achievements of APEC may seem uneventful in the eyes of some observers. Yet careful deliberation will point to APEC's many remarkable high points as well as some of the challenges. The foundations of APEC were set in place about 40 years ago based on the achievements of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). One of the cornerstones of APEC's vision is to achieve a free and open trade area among its member economies. This vision is anchored in the Bogor Goals that remain the centrepiece of the APEC process. The Bogor Goals represent a cause for celebration as well as angst. Celebration because the region has moved towards achieving a much more liberalized environment of trading and investment since 1989, angst because the deadlines for achieving the goals have not yet been fully realized. Today, APEC embraces many of the world's dynamic developed and developing economies that are better poised to meet the new challenges of this century. For those seeking to get a quick sweep of APEC, this book recalls, reflects and provides enough food for thought on the possible remake of APEC. The chapters are carefully written by experts who have been directly involved in the APEC process one way or another. The invaluable insights serve to place the whole APEC process in a balanced perspective, yet with candid deliberations.

The turmoil that has rocked Asian markets since the middle of 1997, and that is now having such deep effects on the economies in the region, is the third major currency crisis of the 1990s. This study explains how the Asian crisis arose and spread. It then outlines the corrective policy measures that could help end the crisis, and the shortcomings that have been revealed in the international financial system that require reform to reduce the chances of a recurrence.

This book examines China’s response to the Asian financial crisis of 1997, both in its immediate aftermath and in the years since. Based on research conducted by the China Development Research Foundation, one of China’s leading think-tanks, this book includes contributions from senior policy makers in the Chinese government.

This book by a distinguished academic and a professional economist from the World Bank clearly demonstrates the significant role played by the real estate sector in inducing the Asian crisis; the linkage of the real estate sector to the general economy; the causes of real estate booms and subsequent busts; and the economic costs of real estate price volatility. The book also includes suggestions for moderating such volatility in the future.

This paper analyzes the origins, implications, and solutions for the Asian financial crisis. From the perspective of a member of the Executive Board of the IMF, as Asian problems were building, the IMF overlooked weaknesses in bank and corporate balance sheets in much of Asia: the IMF was unaware of the extraordinary leverage of Korean companies, which in some cases reached a ratio of 600/1 debt to equity. The IMF did not focus on the weak accounting and disclosure practices of banks and nonbanks or generous rollovers of banks to their key clients.

This book looks at globalisation in historical perspective and *examines the experience of East Asian economies during the financial crisis *provides an account of globalisation through the activities of Japanese multinational enterprises *deals with the social consequences of exposure to the financial market risks of globalisation in East Asia *details the experience of East Asian economies in managing the financial crisis *draws lessons from East Asian experience with financial market liberalisation *asks what approaches to international financial cooperation, trade policy and corporate governance can assist East Asian interests in the world economy.

The Asian crisis has sparked a thoroughgoing reappraisal of current international financial norms, the policy prescriptions of the International Monetary Fund, and the adequacy of the existing financial architecture. To draw proper policy conclusions from the crisis, it is necessary to understand exactly what happened and why from both a political and an economic perspective. In this study, renowned political scientist Stephan Haggard examines the political aspects of the crisis in the countries most affected—Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Haggard focuses on the political economy of the crisis, emphasizing the longer-run problems of moral hazard and corruption, as well as the politics of crisis management and the political fallout that ensued. He looks at the degree to which each government has rewoven the social safety net and discusses corporate and financial restructuring and greater transparency in business-government relations. Professor Haggard provides a counterpoint to the analysis by examining why Singapore, Taiwan, and the Philippines escaped financial calamity.