This text opens with a discussion of the nature, causes and consequences of the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC). It examines the impact the AFC had as well as offers answers for the questions: why was the economic downturn so severe and why was the territory initially a laggard in economic recovery?

We quantify crash risk in currency returns. To accomplish this task, we develop and estimate an empirical model of exchange rate dynamics using daily data for four currencies relative to the US dollar: the Australian dollar, the British pound, the Swiss franc, and the Japanese yen. The model...