The International Monetary Fund is finally taking a strong stand with Indonesia. In sharp contrast, Japan is mired in an eight-year recession that is beginning to resemble a depression thanks largely to monetary, fiscal, and regulatory dithering. It is also vital to embrace markets. Easy to say, but hard to do. Still, the best policy is to apply the word liberalization to everything, from embracing freer trade to requiring companies to open their books.
Liberalization makes markets work better.
Finally, pragmatism is a virtue. Over long periods of time, a thread gradually emerges to justify policy actions but sometimes those policies should be abandoned. In the developing world, for example, tying a currency to the value of the dollar worked to slash inflation and attract foreign investors. No longer, and most developing nations should let their currencies float. Here in the U.S., the Fed has fought the good fight against inflation and economists have emphasized the limits to growth over the past two decades.