Escuela de Negocios

a los efectos de su organización 1 . En el tercer capítulo y en función de las mencionadas contribuciones, el autor organiza sistemáticamente su programa de investigación. Hasta aquí consideramos conveniente reproducir en la reseña la estructura de estos tres primeros capítulos del libro.

Así como Milton Friedman y la Escuela de Chicago han sido reconocidos en la historia del pensamiento económico por provocar una contra-revolución mostrando las falencias del keynesianismo, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek y la Escuela Austríaca de Economía serán inmortales por haber mostrado a la profesión la imposibilidad del cálculo económico en el socialismo, esto es, la tesis de que un sistema socialista implica ausencia del sistema de precios, lo que impide el cálculo económico, sin el cual no podríamos preservar una sociedad basada en una división del trabajo tan amplia como la nuestra.

The survival of apartheid is indeed the survival of a kind of socialismoften altruistically motivatedwhilst the dissolution of colour injustice has been continuously assisted by competitive capitalism. The persistence of colour injustice has been a triumph, perhaps temporary, for the ideologies of "dirigisme"' [ H m , 19641. 'The whole ugly history of apartheid has been an attack on free markets and the rights of individuals, a glorification of centralized government power ' WILLIAMS, 19891.

The 1980's ignited a universal trend towards economic liberalization. This momentum has eclipsed previous attempts to open up world trade. The globalization of capital markets is perhaps the most distinctive element of what might he termed a "New World Economic Order". Globali:ed capital markets involve a flow of "quicksilver capital" thatflows through geographical borders and defies political boundaries. Countries with "capital friendly" institutions shall attract the interest of itinerant investors, either as foreign direct investment, equity investments or lending.

The a.ssumpthm of conttnl o/ the levers 0//loner by Deng Xiaoping rill (I the inplcrnvuation o/ecommtic ri'/o na in ('Irma hays vet to plan aut to a logical earl. Despite optimistic and bullish eyahaations of ill(' ii I fit re pro Sperh fo China's ccoI I ontit IiIture. there ane nunwloIIN wtcertaiI I ties which should /)('(I NNCNNet I. Tilt, first aura of concern i's that the reported cstimate.s of economic grox'th are high1v misleading. In light 0/ this ohsers'ation, the rush to invest in China ma r• he premature a n d nu V involve a speculative bubble which IN both a cause and an e'//eei of inflows of Western capital. Also, there arc likely to he dimmer prospects /or profitability of /o1s'n,n investments in China.

Despite the impressive growth rates in the region, there are some serious questions about the policies and institutions in the high performing East Asian economies. Indeed, several of the traditional institutions can be expected to impose a binding constraint upon the continuation of the rapid economic growth in Singapore and in other countries in the region.

The stol.v of East Asian miracle economies now appears to have been one part illusion and another part nuontelttarv bingeing that hwolved massive mobilization of inputs that contributed to unsustainable growth spurts. Those who detected a new form of capitalism in Japan's development neodel or in that of its East Asian proteges will be disappointed to find that there is nothing Heir under even the rising sun. Currency Meltdown and Asset Deflation After several decades of impressive growth, various Southeast Asian countries were humbled by it wave of speculative forays that revealed weaknesses in their economic fundamentals. A currency meltdown and a regional momentum of asset deflation started at the beginning of July 1997 when Thai authorities severed the baht's peg to the dollar. In short order, shock waves rippled through the region's currency and stock markets. In the initial round, there were precipitous declines in the Thai baht, Indonesia's rupiah, Malaysia's ringgit, the Philippine peso, and the Singapore dollar. Meanwhile, the stock exchanges in most of these countries are on a downward slide of a wild roller coaster ride. It appears that there is ample evidence prompting a reappraisal of the long-term health and performance prospects of the Asian miracle economies. In retrospect, the signs of impending economic weaknesses that are so evident in much of Southeast Asian were ignored by overeager investors. Among the signs were ballooning current account and trade deficits that made fixed Values in terns of a rising dollar unsustainable. At the same time, the increasing demands of global capital markets required more flexible responses to external shocks. Unfortunately, the institutional framework associated with the East Asian development models hampered the self-adjusting mechanisms of their markets. Initially, trade deficits occurred in response to declines in demand for electronics in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, an inflow of foreign capital contributed to an exacerbation of these imbalances. In the case of Thailand, a considerable fraction of the investments that were credited with high rates of economic growth were in property development that added a oneshot boost in incomes.

It is ironic that the relationship between apartheid and South African business interests is used as propaganda by the apartheid regime and its leftist opponents. On one hand, the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies often depict apartheid as a necesssary and evil derivative of capitalism. On the other hand, the National Party describes itself as the only true friend of capitalism in Africa. Both claims are false.

The story of East Asian miracle economies now appears to have been one part illusion and another part momentary bingeing that involved massive mobilization of inputs that contributed to unsustainable growth spurts. Those who detected a new form of capitalism in Japan's development model or in that of its East Asian proteges will be disappointed to find that there is nothing new under even the rising sun.