New paper on the East Asian crisis

Dear Colleagues,

As the East Asian economic crisis continues to be a defining moment 
in the evolution of the world economy, some of you may be interested 
in a new paper which explores some of the internal dynamics of the 
crisis that so far have received insufficient attention. Initial 
publication details of the paper are as follows:

Jeffrey Henderson - 'Uneven crises: institutional foundations of East 
Asian economic turmoil', Transnational Communities Working Paper, 
WPTC-98-13, Faculty of Anthropology and Geography, University of 
Oxford, 1998.

Web Site:  http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk/wwwroot/working papers.htm


While rejecting arguments that locate the blame for the crisis in 
simplistic notions of East Asian 'crony capitalism', the paper seeks 
to supplement analyses which have focussed on the role of 
international finance capital. It does so by suggesting that there 
were real internal causes of the crisis in the countries most 
affected and that these were intimately associated with asymetrical
state institutional capacities to mediate between the domestic and 
international economies. The paper notes that the symptoms of crisis 
in Thailand, Malaysia,  Indonesia and Hong Kong (rooted in property 
and stock market speculation) were quite different from those in 
Korea and suggests that these differences were not coincidental, but 
rather were traceable, in each case, to these asymetric state 
capacities. Inter alia, the paper explores the role of Overseas 
Chinese conglomerates and state actors in the development of 
structurally weak economies in the Southeast Asian countries, and 
asks whether the 'fundamentals' of the real economies in the 
most affected countries were indeed robust, as some commentators have 
argued. Analysing recent data on innovation and terms of trade, the 
paper answers negatively. 

Throughout, the paper emphasizes the substantial institutional 
differences between the East Asian crisis countries so as to combat 
accounts - be they orthodox or radical - that advance monadic 
explanations for the turmoil. In so doing it insists that part of the 
explanation of why the crisis emerged in Thailand, Indonesia, Korea 
etc. must involve an appreciation of why it has not (or not yet, or
particularly) emerged in Taiwan and Singapore. Ultimately the paper 
is not merely an account of the differing internal causes of the 
crisis in each of the affected countries, but a discourse on the 
uneven presence and differing forms of 'developmental states' in the 
region, and on their past, present and future possibilities for 
effective economic governance.

Comments on the paper are most welcome - indeed, actively sought - 
and should be directed to me at:  J.henderson@fs2.mbs.ac.uk

Regards,
Jeffrey Henderson
Jeffrey Henderson
Professor of International Economic Sociology
Manchester Business School,
University of Manchester,
Booth Street West,
Manchester M15 6PB,
England.

Tel: (44)-(0)161-275-6470/6391
Fax: (44)-(0)161-275-6598/6489
J.henderson@fs2.mbs.ac.uk