The currency turmoil that hit Southeast Asian countries in mid-1997 was initially expected to last only a few months. More than a year down the road, the turmoil has spread throughout the world. No one has really benefited except possibly the currency traders and share-market speculators.
One must ask why this is happening. Is it part of the usual economic cycle? Is it because the economic system and practices of all the affected countries are wrong? Is it because of corruption, of crony capitalism and nepotism? Everyone must concede that before the turmoil, the countries of East Asia were among the...