Our evidence suggests that corporate governance in general, and the de facto protection of minority shareholder rights in particular, matters a great deal for the extent of exchange rate depreciation and stock market decline in 1997–98. Although our results do not indicate which countries are vulnerable to a loss of confidence, they do suggest that the extent of exchange rate and stock market collapse in response to a loss of confidence is affected by investor protection. Corporate governance can be of first-order importance in determining the extent of macroeconomic problems in crisis situations.