An analysis of developing country adjustment experiences in the 1970's : low-income Asia
WALLICH, C.
This paper analyzes the adjustment experience of the low-income Asian countries in the aftermath of the oil price shock and in the face of other changes in the international environment over the 1970s. Inasmuch as the region's growth in the 1970s was not far off past trends, and all countries will enter the 1980s with comfortable debt service levels, the concern over the developing countries' adjustment problems has not focused as much on the low-income Asia region as on other countries -- such as the low-income African countries, whose drought and oil-induced problems have been a cause of great concern, or on those countries whose debt difficulties have received much concerted attention. The low-income Asian case is nonetheless interesting because it illustrates the factors which can help to mitigate the impact of external shocks such as the oil price increase or abrupt changes in the trading environment. The low-income Asian case also serves to caution that, even though in the short and medium run the impacts of the shocks may have been somewhat muted, the longer-term effects may be equally severe unless the period of respite has been used to lay the groundwork for structural adjustments. The importance of appropriate and timely policy action is thus highlighted.
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