At Different Speeds: Policy Complementarities and the Recovery from the Asian Crisis

This paper begins with a short review and discussion of the literature on policy complementarities and their implications in terms of (sustainable) growth strategies and the possible emergence of a new policymaking paradigm. Then, it provides a descriptive analysis of the effect on economic growth of complementarities in structural policies in the specific context of the post-Asian crisis recovery. The study resulted in the computation of a reform-level indicator and of a complementarity indicator RC for the economies most affected by the Asian crisis—Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. The comparative analysis shows that these indicators, when applied to a more comprehensive group of policy areas, are related to faster recoveries; importantly, decreasing or low RCs are related to slower recoveries. Furthermore, immediate resilience to the crisis seems to be stronger when a broader, more coherent set of policies is already in place. In general, the analysis suggests that while augmenting the levels of the so-called orthodox policies is necessary, it is not sufficient to generate high, sustainable post-crisis growth trajectories, as those policies must be complemented with others and evolve in a coherent, complementary way.

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms..

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