Abstract:

"As the tiger economies of East Asia turned from boom to bust in the 1990s, the general public was amazed, yet many economists nodded their heads knowingly. This program focuses on the plights of Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, where nepotism, cronyism, corruption, suppression, and the exploitation of cheap foreign labor brought about a financial crisis of enormous proportions. These regions grew too quickly without proper controls and economic safeguards, which has left the middle and lower classes, who are crushed by inflation and unemployment, to pay the bill. Experts agree that East Asia will survive, eventually recover, and probably surpass itself, but at a staggering cost in money and human misery. This program is an excellent expose that reveals why the bubble burst."