The `Asian Crisisa of 1997}98 a!ected all the `emerging marketsa open to capital #ows. Measures of corporate governance, particularly the e!ectiveness of protection for minority shareholders, explain the extent of exchange rate depreciation and stock market decline better than do standard macroeconomic measures. A possible explanation is that in countries with weak corporate governance, worse economic prospects result in more expropriationbymanagersandthusalargerfallinassetprices. 2000ElsevierScience S.A. All rights reserved.