2005 Reports

Dynamic East Asia: Progress and prospects for economic growth and regional integration

Ever since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the nations of East Asia have found a renewed political focus: regional economic cooperation. It has been close to ten years since the financial catastrophe, and it has brought tremendous change, not just for certain countries, but for the region as a whole. The distrust of foreign capital, although still prevalent, has diminished. Certain markets were opened up through vigorous restructuring, consolidation, and then through expansion. As elsewhere in the world, growth in the information technology (IT) sector helped boost many economies, while the emergence of China as the region's economic engine has, and will stay, at the forefront of everyone's mind for years to come. Although economic growth in East Asia has recently been robust, it shows signs of slowing down due to cyclical issues, higher oil prices, and other factors. There are still many issues East Asia needs to tackle, including the elimination of deep political mistrust toward one another, the ongoing need for an even more stable financial market, and a continuation of government and institutional assistance when a crisis similar to the one in 1997 happens again. How should the region proceed hereon? What kind of roadmap should East Asia follow in order to strengthen its financial and monetary cooperation and integration? To answer some of these questions, on September 12, 2005, the Center on Japanese Economy and Business invited Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank to Columbia Business School, to outline some of his thoughts and suggestions on regional economic cooperation. This program was co-sponsored by the APEC Study Center of Columbia University.