Beyond the Asian Crisis

As Southeast and Northeast Asia recover from the Asian crisis and return to a state of growth, the authors of this book assess the lessons to be learned from the crisis to achieve sustainable development in the future. While the importance of each factor contributing to the crisis varies from country to country, their collective experience has created unprecedented turmoil in current thinking on development policy.The authors argue that the major schools of thought need paradigm changes in the wake of the crisis. Those who believe that a 'strong state' or system of semi-democracy is essential for economic growth have been disproved by the sudden collapse of these economies. These countries must now adapt to the fact that society must be open to ideas and democratise its polity to achieve innovation-driven sustainable development. Those who used the success of East Asian economies as a vindication of the neo-classical orthodoxy, referred to as the 'Washington consensus', must now see the follies of progressive withdrawal of the government from the economic sphere and of unfettered flows of short-term capital. This book offers a timely and reflective analysis of the Asian financial crisis and brings together a detailed overview of the different and often competing responses within the countries of the region. It will be welcomed by students and scholars with an interest in Asian economics, development studies, international political economy, and international relations.