Time for Expansion, Not Punishment of Asian Economies

Jean-Michel Severino is the director of the East Asia department of the World Bank.

Washington - Bicycle taxis are back on the streets of Jakarta, creating jobs and saving fuel. Japan, the powerhouse of Asia's rapid economic expansion in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, has announced its first recession in a generation. Thailand and Korea are confronting the shock of rising unemployment - even homelessness - and receiving injections of cash from the international community as they seek to restore stability to their battered economies.

back to index