History·12 February 2026·4 min read
The 1997 Asian crisis — the domino effect
It started in Thailand and toppled, one by one, the economies of the "Asian tigers". How crises spread.
In 1997, a currency crisis starting in Thailand spread rapidly across Southeast Asia, collapsing currencies and economies that had seemed unstoppable — the "Asian tigers".
How crises spread
Frightened investors pulled their money from the whole region, not just the problem country. This is financial "contagion": fear crosses borders faster than money. The financial world is a single network.
