IMF Bank-Restructuring Efficiency Outcomes: Evidence from East Asia

We report new findings on bank efficiency in East Asian countries for the pre- and post-IMF restructuring periods. We find that bank efficiency has improved, but only to the pre-IMF intervention level, and that restructured banks are not more efficient than their unrestructured counterparts. Different restructuring measures have different effects. Bank closures are economically justified, but mergers show short-term efficiency losses. Recapitalization and reprivatization of badly performing banks lead to efficiency improvement, but also increase government ownership. Ease of entry that has allowed for more foreign bank participation results in slightly improved performance of badly performing banks.

Asian Financial Crisis.Prologue and the Case of Thailand

We suggest that the Asian financial crisis began because of theinconsistent exchange rate system and miss-management within Thailand. We showthat prior tothe Asian financial crisis the Thai Baht against the Yen followed the theoryofpurchasing power parity but the Baht against the U.S. Dollar did not. We givebriefsummaries of the papers included in this issue.     

东亚货币一体化的国际风险分担机制分析——基于第二代最优货币区理论的拓展

在经济全球化的背景下,区域货币一体化对于区域内各国的经济发展有着重要意义。当前的国际金融危机使东亚地区货币合作又重新进入人们的视野,关于东亚货币一体化的可行性分析也进入了一个崭新的阶段。此时,我们更需要从抵御风险,实现共同发展的角度来探讨东亚货币一体化。中国作为东亚区域内有影响力的大国,应对此问题有深入思考。本文对最优货币区理论进行了有益的拓展,建立了基于微观基础的国际风险分担机制模型,并运用动态优化的方法严格证明了货币一体化所形成的国际风险分担机制使成员方达到消费保险的目的,这为进一步推动东亚货币一体化的建设提供了新的理论依据。     

The applicability of a national focus State of the Future Index (SOFI) on developing nations and the Implications for Stabilisation Operations—A case study of Timor-Leste

This paper argues for the applicability of utilising the State of the Future Index to forecast the future of small developing nations across a range of areas that are considered important determinants of the type of future a developing country is likely to experience. This analysis provides an insight into the benefits of using such a tool for creating more effective policy towards Official Development Assistance (ODA) and its impact on Stabilisation Operations, in addition to measuring the success and effectiveness of previous policies. Timor-Leste was chosen as a case study because of its contemporary policy significance to Australia and the considerable amount of resources that the Australian government has committed, both directly and indirectly, to its reconstruction. Outputs from the State of the Future Index (SOFI) are used to track some of the key variables that will be significant drivers of future change in Timor-Leste. Hence, Timor's progress at a national level can be monitored. Moreover, individual economic, societal and demographic forecasts provide a more in-depth perspective of the drivers of change and future challenges that Timor-Leste will face.     

The regional character of Asian multinational enterprises

In recent issues of this Journal a debate has raged concerning the appropriate nature of academic research in the Asia Pacific region. While we support the desire for both rigor and regional relevance in this research, we wish to demonstrate a strong commonality between the performance of large Asian firms and others from Europe and North America. This prompts us to question the need for a new theory of the MNE based on the experience of Asian firms. Like their counterparts elsewhere, the large Asian firms mostly operate on an intra-regional basis. While in the literature it has been assumed that the path to success for Asian firms is globalization, we show that the data supporting this is confined to a handful of unrepresentative case studies. We also present a bibliometric analysis which shows an overwhelming case study sample selection bias in academic studies towards this small number of unrepresentative cases.

2006年全球经济展望:维持增长然幅度较缓慢

预计发达国家今明两年的经济增长将减缓,发展中国家虽然保持稳健增长的态势,但增长率将从2004年的6.8%减缓至2005年的5.8%,2006年则进一步减至5.7%。中国2006年全年继续维持9%左右的经济增长不致有太大问题。唯一担心的是2006年上半年中国可能出现通货紧缩。     

近半个世纪以来中东地区石油政治透析

石油政治的核心是对石油权力的争夺.1973年第四次中东战争之后的近半个世纪,中东地区石油政治的表现形式体现在石油与地区冲突、石油与石油输出国组织、石油与国有化运动、石油与域外大国的干涉四个方面.中东地区石油政治的共性特点可以用\"五化\"来概括,即家族化、组织化、碎片化、集团化和金融化.其中,家族化是其\"污点\",组织化是\"立足点\",碎片化是\"风险点\",集团化是\"分界点\",金融化则是\"亮点\".