In terms of our model, investors were only willing to hold on to Asian assets if the interest rate (or expected return) exceeded the French interest rate by a risk premium RPW. If investors see different default risks at home and abroad the international capital market equilibrium condition modifies to i = iW - RPW. If French investors are prepared to accept the higher risk perceived in Asian assets only if the expected return is, say, 5% higher than at home, then Asia’s interest rate must exceed France’s interest rate by 5%. Hence, i = iW - 5. The two interest rates, which were about the same before the crisis, drift apart.