Asia Falling

"The Asian success story reflects a unique combination of market- and government-led policies, a balance that doesn't exist in the mature Western nations to the same degree. Key to this success story was prudent macroeconomic management."

"Global financial markets sounded a global warning. It was to have profound resonance for Asia?the recovery from 1995 in the value of the dollar, and the consequent loss of Asian trade competitiveness. "

"In the U.S. Treasury, a fierce battle was brewing between the "hawks," who wanted to see the dollar sink in order to force Japan to the trade bargaining table, and the "doves," who warned of the potentially catastrophic effects on interest rates."

"Asian authorities did their best to ignore an event that should have served as a clear warning of the potential excesses that can build as a result of rapidly changing dynamics within a developing economy?the Mexican currency crisis. "

"An economy can decay for years if left alone. For it to collapse into crisis, it needs a catalyst, either internal or external."

"The key common theme of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia was overreliance on external finance relative to their institutional infrastructures and huge levels of unhedged corporate debt."

"A key problem for Asia, both in the past and going forward, has been its overreliance on the outside world."

"Integration in the global economy and the global financial markets magnifies and accelerates both the benefits and the weaknesses within domestic economies, requiring faster and more effective government responses."

"A fundamental weakness within the Chinese economy, one that the Chinese government is admittedly seeking to address, is the issue of education, or rather the lack of it."