Copyright

© 1988 International Monetary Fund

Reprinted March 1990

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Beyond adjustment: the Asian experience.

“February 1988.”

Proceedings of a conference sponsored by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations and the International Monetary Fund.

Bibliography: p.

1. Asia—Economic policy—Congresses. 2. Economic stabilization—Asia—Congresses. 3. Asia—Foreign economic relations—Congresses. 4. Economic stabilization—Congresses. I. Streeten, Paul. II. International Monetary Fund. III. Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.

HC412.B444 1988b 338.95 87-36163

ISBN 9781557750006 (pbk.)

Price: US$15.00

Address orders to:

External Relations Department, Publication Services

International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C. 20431

Telephone: (202) 623-7430

Contents

• Foreword

  • Michel Camdessus

• Acknowledgments

• Introduction and Discussion Summary

• Opening Remarks

  • R. N. Malhotra

• 1. Growth and Adjustment: Experiences of Selected Subcontinent Countries

  • Bijan B. Aghevli, Insu Kim, and Hubert Neiss

  • Comments

  • K. M. Matin

• 2. Alternative Growth and Adjustment Strategies of Newly Industrializing Countries in Southeast Asia

  • Sang-Woo Nam

  • Comments

  • Arshad Zaman

• 3. Contrasting External Debt Experience: Asia and Latin America

  • Azizali F. Mohammed

  • Comments

  • Sunanda Sen

• 4. Trade Regimes and Export Strategies with Reference to South Asia

  • Ehtisham Ahmad

  • Comments

  • Wilhelm G. Ortaliz Charan D. Wadhva

• 5. Structural Adaptation and Public Enterprise Performance

  • V. V. Bhatt

  • Comments

  • Muzaffer Ahmad T.L. Sankar

• 6. Institutional Framework for Decision Making in Korean Public Enterprises: Some Implications for Developing Countries

  • Hyung-Ki Kim

• 7. The Asian Experience and the Role of Multilateral Institutions, Foreign Aid, and Other Financial Sources

  • C. Rangarajan

  • Comments

  • Nimal Sanderatne

• 8. Surpluses for a Capital-Hungry World

  • Paul Streeten

• Biographical Sketches

• Seminar Participants and Observers

Foreword

I am delighted that the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations was able to join with the International Monetary Fund in sponsoring a seminar on Adjustment and Economic Growth: The Asian Experience. The seminar, which was held in Bombay in December 1986, was attended by economists from universities, central banks, governments, corporations, research institutions, and other organizations; other government officials; corporate executives; and journalists representing a broad spectrum of views on the issues discussed. Participants, who attended in a personal capacity, came from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Staff members of the Fund and the World Bank also participated.

The relevance and immediacy of the topics discussed provided an opportunity to have a frank and constructive exchange of views and experiences which, I believe, has improved understanding of the issues and has helped to focus the search for appropriate solutions. This, of course, is a major objective of promoting a better understanding of the work of the Fund and of improving the Fund’s knowledge of thinking in academic, business, and other nongovernmental circles.

This book represents the continuation of the Fund’s effort to publish a wide variety of views about its role and activities in the developing world. While all the views expressed are not necessarily shared by the Fund, it is our hope that their dissemination can contribute to a more informed discussion of the issues.

Michel Camdessus

Managing Director

International Monetary Fund

Acknowledgments

It is tempting to mistake enjoyment for achievement. In the case of the Bombay seminar on Adjustment and Growth: the Asian Experience, however, enjoyment and productivity went together. The seminar was jointly sponsored by the International Monetary Fund and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). Much of the success was due to the hard work put into organizing it by the Fund and ICRIER, and to the splendid setting of the Taj Mahal Intercontinental Hotel. Governor Malhotra of the Reserve Bank of India opened the proceedings with an inspiring speech, to whose themes we returned again and again in the subsequent days. Dr. K.B. Lall presided with just the right combination of firmness, gentleness, and wit, adding to our deliberations from the great store of his experience and wisdom. Azizali Mohammed and Ahmed Abushadi of the Fund not only contributed during the seminar, preventing us from going off the rails, but also put a vast amount of work into designing, planning, and organizing it.

The Fund does not always have a good press, and its critics abound. But the spirit of this seminar showed no trace of confrontation, acrimony, or hostility. The staff members of the Fund were entirely open-minded and willing to listen, which is sometimes more difficult to do than talking. And the participants voiced none of the ill-informed complaints and grudges so often heard and read. I am convinced that we all learned from each other. At a minimum, my criterion for a good seminar is to meet again one old friend and to make one new friend. This seminar exceeded vastly this minimum requirement, not only for me but for all participants, and not only in terms of old and new friendships but also in terms of clarification of the difficult issues of adjustment. I should like to express my particular thanks to Azizali Mohammed and Ahmed Abushadi for their continual support through the stages of planning the seminar and editing this book. Finally, I should like to thank Sylvia Holmes for typing several drafts and Paul Gleason and Jennie Lee Carter of the Editorial Division of the International Monetary Fund for seeing this volume through its final stages.

Paul Streeten

Boston