Lessons Learned, Lessons Not Learned and the Lessons to Be Learned: From the Asian Crisis to the European Crises

Abstract

The European sovereign debt crisis erupted a dozen years after the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1998. What is striking are the similarities between the European crisis and the Asian crisis. The case of Greece even bears resemblance to earlier Latin American crises. Why did Europe not draw lessons from history? What can the authorities in Asia learn from the European crisis, so that they too will not ignore the lessons from other countries? This chapter reviews the lessons from the Asian crisis, provides a broad sketch of developments of the euro-zone crisis and considers how Europe could or should have learned from the Asian crisis. It also selectively highlights important lessons for Asia that are emerging from the current crisis in the euro zone.