Perhaps the most surprising fact about the financial crisis that engulfed several East Asian countries in 1997 and 1998 was that it happened. Their long-run economic successes and stability did not place them on anyone’s list of countries likely to suffer major financial crises. The focus of East Asian specialists was on the reasons for the region’s economic growth and when or if it might slowdown. Sometimes the debate was heated, particularly about the longevity of high growth rates and whether there was a new Asian model of economic success, but no one was thinking that a major financial meltdown would begin in East Asia and spill over into other parts of the world.