The debate on capital controls resurfaced after the Asian crisis of the mid-1990s especially as the root cause of the crisis was traced to the open capital accounts of the East Asian economies. Even so, the intellectual orthodoxy continued to denounce controls on capital flows as being inefficient and ineffective.
The debate on capital controls was not pursued to a logical closure as the Asian economies recovered in quick order, regained their export competitiveness and started building up external reserves for self-insurance. 35. The recent crisis has, however, been a clear turning point in the worldview on capital controls.