The East Asian Financial Crisis: Diagnosis, Remedies, Prospects

Jeffrey D. Sachs and

JDS

Jeffrey D. Sachs

Steve Radelet

Steve Radelet Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Development - Georgetown University

Barry P. Bosworth and

Barry P. Bosworth Nonresident Senior Fellow - Economic Studies

Richard N. Cooper

RNC

Richard N. Cooper

“HISTORY,” JAWAHARLAL NEHRU famously observed, “is almost always written by the victors. ” Financial history, it seems, is written by the creditors. When a financial crisis arises, it is the debtors who are asked to take the blame. This is odd, since a loan agreement invariably has two parties. The failure of a loan usually represents miscalculations on both sides of the transaction or distortions in the lending process itself.