ABSTRACT
The Asian currency crisis of 1997–8 has made a world of difference to national economic management in the region. In the first half of 1997, the case for keeping the economy open to the outside world was not difficult to make. The Asian dragons, Chile, and the emerging countries of Southeast Asia had been doing very well for the previous few years. Asia was expected to dominate the world’s economic developments for at least the first part of the twenty-first century. That encouraging picture has become open to question. As of the middle of 1998, Southeast Asia is still experiencing the turmoil of currency adjustments. The economic outlook for the region, while still positive, is no longer as rosy. Doubts also linger about South Korea’s immediate future.
