The IMF gives good advice to countries to avoid crises. And they did so in the case of Thailand. The problem is that the countries don t act in time. What you need is other countries, particularly countries in the neighborhood, to lean. So APEC is setting up a machinery for peer pressure, where countries in the region will lean on others to act preventatively to hold off and avoid a crisis that will otherwise engulf the whole region, as it has this time.
Speed is very important.
It s important right now to resolve the crisis. In a sense it s a race between market nervousness and the ability of the countries to come to grips with their problems and restore confidence. In the summer the rapid loss of value in the Thai currency caught the world community by surprise, but now Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Korea, and even Japan have been hit by currency speculation, failing banks, and falling stock prices. And the leaders here have agreed that more and quicker relief is needed. A key goal of the plan is to offer reassurance and inspire confidence, says APEC adviser Soogil Young, head of a Korean government-sponsored think tank.