Nagoya, July 16 - Professor William Grimes, director of Boston University’s Center for the Study of Asia, explained how lessons learned from the Asian financial crisis can be applied to the current global economic downturn.

Professor Grimes listed the flexibility of exchange rates, stronger financial regulation and the accumulation of foreign reserves as some of the practices developed in response to the Asian financial crisis.

Some of these practices have lessoned the impact of the last year’s economic downturn on Asian economies, but other practices, including Japan and China’s increased accumulation of foreign reserves, have further complicated the situation by promoting excess borrowing in the US and elsewhere.

Nagoya University School of Economics Professor Kenji Nozaki moderated this event.