Notes To The Prime Minister.

Is full of typos.

But the book itself is a vivid reminder of the Asian Financial Crisis which struck the region in '97. What made me like the book (aside from the fact that I got it for free) was how the author wrote, in detail, how the crisis affected the country, as well as Tun Dr. Mahathir's predicament at that time. The conditions and perils in which Malaysian citizens suffered, as well as the reasoning for the drastic measures in which Mahathir was forced to take, to subsequent castigation's by the international community, all documented in one full of typos good book.

Although I might have thought differently if I actually had to pay for the book. 

There were a number of pages which caught my attention but one page stood above all else - Page 336, where details on the criticisms made by the international community was laid down. Business Week labelled Malaysia as a renegade economy, and that the government made the worst possible choice. The International Herald Tribute proclaimed that Malaysia shut the door on the global economy. A London-based analyst claimed that Malaysia suffered an IQ-crisis. Pretty harsh.

When the government decided to peg the Ringgit to USD$3.80 it was blatantly obvious that the ringgit was being undervalued, depriving Black Market traders from the incentive to conduct currency exchanges. Since the country refused support from the International Monetary Fund, they were not burdened with ridiculous interest rates unlike Indonesia and Thailand, allowing them to have much more freedom in managing their budget without foreign intervention. In the end, it seemed that the measures which the government took neither helped the economy to recover, nor did it inadvertently made it worse. Recovery ensued nonetheless.

Where most of the western community backed the IMF's revival package for Asian countries, one particular oddball, Paul Krugman's Plan B to revive Asian markets was very similar to the actions Mahathir took. In his article, he noted that instead of cutting spending and increasing interest rates, the exact opposite should be enacted. He believed that the Asian economies were in dead water and all they needed was something to jump start them back into drive mode. So maybe he was spot on, in a way.

I believe that the book should be kept in close quarters for young Malaysians as a reminder of the past, to never forget the difficulties in which the country faced, and how it survived and recovered faster among its peers. Although I'm pretty sure most youngsters would prefer having Justin Bieber CD's with Japanese Mangas stacked up on their book racks.

To the least, it will have a place on my bookshelf.

Explaining Monetary Economics by Baby Sitting.

Would be difficult to do.

But here we have Paul Krugman explaining how a simple co-op of babysitting through the use of coupons as medium of exchange (where seasonal changes are the variable factor affecting the demand and supply of coupons), could end up in a disaster if there were no 3rd party element in the system to regulate and manage the supply of the coupons (a.k.a Central Banks).

I found Krugman's simplistic approach in explaining Monetary Economics to be very enlightening, and further showcases the importance of financial regulation by Central Banks in any country in order to ensure the stability of its economy as well as manage its currency fluctuations. In terms of governmental intervention in financial regulations, I believe he is a much more competent person as opposed to Alan Greenspan. 

The article written by Krugman also implicates citizens to keep calm during recession times, and hold in the belief that the good times will return, once the Baby-sitting coupons are regulated in an orderly manner.

Project Japan : Overview

     Project Japan's main aim is to compile Japan's economic history for the purpose of ascertaining Japan's economic woes which has been persisted since the early 1990's. The term "Lost Decade" or "失われた10 / Ushinawareta Jūnen" in Japanese  has been used in many academic writings to describe Japan's state of economy. In more recent times, the term has been extended to include the 1st decade of the millennium where academicians would use the term "The Lost Years" or "失われた20年, Ushinawareta Nijūnen" referring to an economic stagnation which has lasted for 20 Years.

     There has been numerous theories for the reason of Japan's economic stagnation however none of them have provided solid conclusive findings. Many believe however that the root cause is Japan's cultural tendency; to save despite the fact that the interest rate in Japan is close to 0%. The 2011 Tohoku Great Earthquake carried catastrophic consequences to the Japanese economy, however certain members of the general public believes that the short contraction which the country would suffer in the following months of the event, in the long term, it may spur the economy back on track through spending.

     Japan's economic history, development and potential causes of stagnation will further be discussed in separate posts and section as seen below. The Project will aim to elaborate on each causes and theories, hoping to create an extensive database of articles and writings which is related to Japan's economic woes. 

1. To be added.

Post Updates : 

17/07/2011 : Creation of master post to centralize all future posts related to Project - Japan. No actual sub-posts has been created yet.

Namaste

The United States has developed a new weapon that destroys people but it leaves buildings standing. 

It’s called the stock market.