The newly industrialised economies of Asian and ASEAN were badly affected by the lower European, Japanese and US growth and the collapse of the global electronics cycle, with Hong Kong and Singapore being particularly vulnerable, and Taiwan experiencing its first recession since World War II. These countries are only expected to grow by around 1 per cent in 2002.
So much for monetary stability, but what can be said about growth, employment and other real variables? The conclusions to be drawn are straightforward, but perhaps surprising for eurosceptics. From 1999 until the outbreak of the crisis, the euro area created 15 million jobs, twice the figure in the US, and cut its unemployment level by two points, to 7.6%.