Summary of main points
During 1998, the world economy has entered a slowdown, which originated in South East Asia. The Asian Crisis has caused severe economic turbulence in the economies of South East Asia since the summer of 1997. There have been two distinct phases to the Asian Crisis: the first from July 1997 to December 1997, when the first international assistance was provided, and the second since mid-1998, when the turbulence has spread beyond the region as Russia, China and Brazil have shown signs of contagion. This crisis was initially a financial one as speculation caused funds to drain out of Thai and Korean currencies and stock markets. The crisis eventually caused economic growth rates to collapse in several South East Asian countries.