ABSTRACT
In 1989 the market economies of Southeast Asia, in particular the original ASEAN 5 (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, continued to exhibit the robust growth that earned them the reputation of being the new growth pole of the world. Even the non-market economies of the region, namely, Myanmar, Kampuchea, Laos, and Vietnam, show signs of increased liberalization in their economic policies. It is also worth noting that the government’s commitment to continuing deregulation in the economy initiated since 1983 appeared to be unwavering. The policy reforms initiated cover a wide range of instruments which are by no means uniform. However, a common feature of these reforms is the increasing reliance on market forces in the allocation of scarce resources. Among the ASEAN countries, Thailand exhibited the slowest progress in terms of financial-sector deregulation during the ’70s and the ’80s.
