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?

This paper investigates the potential impacts of the degree of divergence in open macroeconomic policies in the context of the trilemma hypothesis. Using an index that measures the extent of policy divergence among the three trilemma policy choices — monetary independence, exchange rate...