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Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies
ISSN: 0007-4918 (Print) 1472-7234 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cbie20
Asian Responses to the Global Financial Crisis: The
Impact of Regionalism and the Role of the G20
Kiki Verico
To cite this article: Kiki Verico (2013) Asian Responses to the Global Financial Crisis: The Impact of Regionalism and the Role of the G20, Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 49:1, 124-125, DOI: 10.1080/00074918.2013.779775
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2013.779775
Published online: 21 Mar 2013.
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124 Book reviews
The remaining nine chapters provide a series of snapshots of credit institutions around Southeast Asia, including a delightful chapter on pawnshops in
Singa-pore; a chapter that applies the theoretical models of chapter 2 to the data for Thailand, where group lending is particularly relevant; and a timely inal chapter on microinance in Burma.
As noted, Indonesia receives a particularly deep treatment. In chapter 6, Stein-wald provides a useful discussion of the Indonesian People’s Credit Banks (Bank Perkreditan Rakyat, BPR), which will be appreciated by anyone who has drowned in a sea of acronyms and initialisms when trying to piece together the history of
rural credit in Indonesia. He traces the BPR to 1895 and a Dutch translation of the German Raiffeisen model (irst discussed in chapter 3) and raises questions about
whether credit access really was the all-encompassing constraint to the rural poor that it had been made out to be.
Chapter 11, by Henley, provides a history of microinance in Indonesia from
1900 to 2000. Hence it inevitably retreads some of the ground covered in earlier chapters. At the same time, it introduces fascinating discussions of pawnbrok-ing and its effectiveness in penetratpawnbrok-ing to the poorest of society. It also argues
that the introduction of microsavings was ‘Indonesia’s real microinance revolu
-tion’, and discusses the relationship between economic growth and microinance
development: ‘it would be more correct to say that the decline in poverty caused
the microinance revolution than to say that the microinance revolution caused
poverty to decline’.
This volume adds value by juxtaposing historical and current policy tensions,
drawing together evidence rarely found in one place – especially in such a suc -cinct and accessible form. A small number of appendix tables summarising key data would have enhanced the chapters. While some of the material feels ever so slightly dated, especially in light of the most recent empirical literature on
micro-inance in economics, the book should become a much-appreciated resource.
Russell Toth University of Sydney
© 2013 Russell Toth;
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2013.772946
Jehoon Park, T.J. Pempel, Geng Xiao (eds) (2012) Asian Responses to the Global Financial Crisis: The Impact of Regionalism and the Role of the G20, Edward Elgar,
Cheltenham, pp. ix + 275. Cloth: £80.00; publisher’s online price: £72.00.
This book uses the effects of regionalism and the G20 to explore Asia’s strate-gic and important role in the global milieu. Its multidisciplinary analysis of how
Asian countries have dealt with the global inancial crisis (GFC) delivers a fruitful perspective for readers. Using China’s resilience to the GFC as its starting point, it
argues that government intervention (the Keynesian approach) during a crisis is more effective than market clearance (the neoliberal approach).
Park (chapter 16) captures the book’s general conclusion: that a community-based model for regionalism is ideal for Asia, ahead of Weberian (state-led
Book reviews 125
integration) or multi-core (sub-regional-led integration) models. Wallerstein (chapter 1) predicts that the world will enter a new geopolitical system by 2020,
but he questions its merits. Xiao, Quirk and Yang (chapter 2) suggest that this
system’s idea of global, long-term interests will have to displace Asia’s narrow-minded and short-term interests.
In chapter 3, Chen explains that the Chinese Economic Model of the Beijing Consensus will be more effective than the current model of the Washington
Con-sensus. Ma and Tian’s chapter 5 supports this argument, citing as an example the effectiveness of the Chinese government’s Keynesian approach during the 1997– 98 Asian crisis and the GFC. Y. Kim and G. Kim (chapter 4) explain in more detail
the economic rivalry between China and the US, arguing that China’s capital
con-trol is a lesser evil than the unregulated capital lows of a free-loating exchange
rate.
Yongtao (chapter 13) describes the physical and social dynamism of Sino-US
relations, and adds that the two countries can have a mutually beneicial relation -ship. Pempel (chapter 11) supports Yongtao’s view, suggesting that China and the US can use G2 frameworks to control global capital. Hundt (chapter 14) proposes that the role of middle powers such as South Korea and Australia will balance the Asianist form of order in the region.
Along with Japan and South Korea, Asia’s major and ‘middle’ economic pow-ers, the region has the emerging economies of China, India and Indonesia. In
chap-ter 7, Yoon emphasises that Asia, as the G20’s second-largest member, faces high
expectations, yet its lack of a cooperation scheme has seen economic cooperation take place mostly under regionalist frameworks. He proposes the establishment
of an ‘Asian caucus’ – comprising China, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan – to enhance Asia’s role in the G20. Nakajima (chapter 9) argues that APEC’s ‘open regionalism’ has lost its meaning since the emergence of the Trans-Paciic Partner
-ship and the increasing inluence of ASEAN Plus Three and ASEAN Plus Six.
In chapter 6, P. Kim proposes closer economic regionalism in East Asia via a
free trade zone, regional bond markets and inancial cooperation. In chapter 10, T. Kim explains that in the wake of the GFC, an intraregional market is more
important to East Asia than the extraregional markets of the US and the EU. Pan (chapter 12) argues that beyond the economic community, East Asia needs
‘regional communities’ like those of the EU. Yet Higgott (chapter 15) reminds
readers that regionalism is an intermediate step that links national and global
understanding – not an alternative to globalisation and not simply restricted to trade and monetary integrations. Moon (chapter 8) uses South Korea as a case study of recovery from a inancial crisis and inds that affected countries must
seek solutions at all levels: national, regional and global.
Kiki Verico University of Indonesia
© 2013 Kiki Verico
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2013.779775
