Credit market imperfections have been blamed for the depth and persistence of the Great Depression in the USA. Could similar mechanisms have played a role in ending the East Asian miracle? After a brief account of the nature of the recent crises, we use a model of highly levered...

In this paper Cagan's analysis of hyperinflations is adapted to look at sit­uations where the deficits to be financed by money creation are large and variable, but fiscal stabilisation is expected--features found in some of the republics of the Former Soviet Union soon after independence. The...