and the Philippines, and about 10% in Korea.
The pegged exchange rate arrangements posed much greater problems in 1997, when
governments ran down their foreign exchange reserves to defend pegge currencies that were
increasingly judged by the markets to be unsustainable. As the reserves ran down, vulnerability to
financial panic increased. Looking over the course of the 1990s, we can say that Asia=s pegged
exchange rates posed at least three problems. First, they gave over-confidence to investors, who
ignored exchange risks on the belief that nominal exchange rates would be pegged indefinitely, or
at least long enough to allow for a graceful exit. Second, they permitted a growing overvaluation
in real terms, thereby squeezing exporters, and drawing too much investment spending into nontradeables
sectors. Third, they set the stage for financial panic, since Asian governments were
committed by their public promises to use the foreign exchange reserves to defend the currency,
even after everybody came to regard the rate as overvalued. This promise forced governments to
deplete their foreign reserves in a vain defense of the currency, and then it forced them to Abreak
their word@ when they had to abandon the currency defense once the foreign exchange reserves
are depleted.
The combination of the investment boom and fixed exchange rates led to over-investment
in some sectors, and a moderate decline in investment quality. One indicator of eroding
investment quality is the fact that incremental capital-output ratios rose across the region,
although it is worth noting that they rose by an amount not much greater than in several non-crisis
emerging markets. In each country, an increasing share of bank loans went towards construction,
real estate, finance, and other services. In Thailand, both property and equity share prices soared,
then began to plummet in late 1996, putting pressure on financial institutions that had lent to these
activities and thereby helping to set the crisis in motion. But this pattern was less obvious in other
countries. In Indonesia, for example, there was essentially no change in property prices in Jakarta
after 1992. In Korea, overinvestment was focussed more on certain manufacturing sectors, such
as semiconductors and steel, rather than on real estate and services.
Perceptions about Asia=s growth prospects may have begun to shift after export growth
slowed abruptly in 1996. Export growth rates (in value terms, measured in US dollars) dropped
sharply in Korea, Malaysia, China, and especially in Thailand (where the value of exports actually
fell 1% in 1996 after expanding by 25% in 1995). In Indonesia, export growth had slowed less
sharply, but the slowdown had started in 1993. In Korea=s case, the slowdown was mainly due
to a drop in export prices, itself partially due to Korea=s over-investment in some sectors,
especially semiconductors. For example, world prices for semiconductors fell 20% between 1995
and 1997 after rising sharply in the early 1990s. Malaysia, too, suffered mainly from weak prices.
By contrast, Thailand=s export prices remained stable, but export volumes dropped sharply.
Indonesia=s slower growth was also mainly due to sluggish volume performance