we have divided the chapters into three parts. Besides
providing an introduction, Part I addresses the issues of predictability
of currency crises; Part II consists of chapters that focus on a set of
reforms or ‘cures’ for preventing and/or ameliorating the after-effects of a
crisis and, finally, Part III consists of a set of econometric studies that
address several issues of analytical interest pertaining to labor market
behavior, investment and productivity, exchange rate adjustments and
estimation of China’s core inflation rate, as well as the ‘true’ cost of living
index for China over the twenty-year period that spans the Asian
Financial Crisis.
A brief guided tour of the contents of the specific chapters is given in
section 3, while in section 2 below we note the important questions raised
by the recent financial or currency crises.