‚Asian‘ Capitalism: Explanation of Failure as well as Success?Michèle Schmiegelow

ASIEN – Nr. 70 (1999) pp. 54–62

Towards the end of the 1980’s, it was fashionable to believe in the „Asian Miracle“. The headlines were „Decline of America“ and „Rise of Asian Capitalism“. Since capitalism as such could not very well decline in one part of the world and rise in another, failure and success were conveniently associated with the adjectives „American“ and „Asian“ respectively. Excess liquidity in the US capital markets was led by „senior economists“ with degrees in political science to pour into Asian stock markets with what was later castigated by Alan Greenspan as „irrational exuberance“.