The East Asian Economic Crisis: It's not All Bad News

Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Second Quarter The East Asian crisis is not all bad news for the United States and Canada (North America). Net debtors in North America – be they individual families refinancing their mortgages, businesses financing their expansion, or the U.S. government financing its debt – should benefit from the crisis, as it continues to put downward pressure on interest rates. While the crisis hurts North American farm exports, it presents opportunities for expansion in North American exports of processed foods. The study estimates that the benefits accruing to North American food producers far outweigh the losses to farmers in the region over the long term.