Book review: Financial crisis and institutional change in East Asia

In the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis of 1997, many expected the affected countries to reform and restructure their financial systems and become more market-driven. There was an expectation that Asian economies would retrench state influence in the market and converge onto a liberal market model. This book investigates the evolution of the financial systems of Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand since 1997. Pierpaolo Perna is impressed by the book’s ability to draw a parallel between the East Asian experience and the financial crisis still affecting a large segment of the Western world today.