Asia’s Contribution to Global Economic Development and Stability

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While the ongoing global financial and economic crisis originated far from Asia’s shore, its impetus has created an environment of great uncertainty (in the case of credit, especially trade finance credit) and has adversely impacted global economic growth in both 2008 and 2009. It has affected Asia’s economy mainly through the trade channel. Strengthened after the 1997–1998 financial crisis through a series of supervisory and regulatory reforms, Asia’s financial institutions have thus far weathered the storm, even though equity and bond markets have turned down. As the world economy starts down an unprecedented path to reform, there has been no better time to examine the role Asia should play in the new global economy. The chapters in this book do just that: examine Asia’s contribution to global growth and sustainability.

Looking at the issues addressed in this book, it becomes clear that Asia can be a leading force in contributing to the global recovery, while still attending to its own needs. In other words, Asia can help the world by helping itself. By strengthening domestic markets and providing a transparent, well-supervised, and integrated financial market, Asia can efficiently mobilize its surplus savings to provide needed capital to its own investors, as well as potentially provide a mechanism through which the rest of the world can get capital flowing again. By investing in technology and providing training and educational opportunities to its population, Asia can develop “home grown” solutions to the demand-side challenges of unstable food prices, as well as reduce its
reliance on unreliable energy sources.