The evidence of the East Asian crisis is now in, and does indeed point to the conclusion that weaknesses in the financial systems and free capital mobility played a central role in propagating and deepening the crisis. All the crisis countries had essentially opened themselves to uncontrolled...

This paper contains the text of a series of public lectures given by Professor Williamson at the LSE on February 24 and 25 1992. Professor Williamson is the first holder of the British Petroleum Professorship, awarded annually to a visiting academic of the highest standing. The lecture covers...