Maylasia: Contagion or Complacence?

Before 1997, Malaysia’s economy was characterized by sustained high growth rates; in July of that year, however, the country entered a recessive crisis. In this article, the author explains the causes of that crisis and describes the measures the government took in the first stage, that actually turned out to be inefficient; in fact, they became increasingly more severe. Villanueva Hallal also highlights the peculiarity of the Malaysian case as the only relatively successful country that is unwilling to accept the rules imposed by globalization: liberalization of the financial system and less government authority to manage the national economy. This explains why, during the last two decades, Malaysia has had one of the most stable, visionary governments of the region. Lastly, the author analyzes the repercussions of the Malaysian crisis in Mexico, within which the most important is the negative impact on oil prices.