In the aftermath of the international financial crisis of 1997-1998, many emerging markets found themselves – through currency depreciation, rapid productivity gains, or both – highly competitive. Countries that ran significant current-account surpluses, built up large reserves, and fixed (or heavily managed) their exchange rates in order to support the first two objectives appeared to secure external stability.
在1997-1998年爆发的国际金融危机之后，许多新兴市场发现它们通过使货币贬值或生产力的快速增长或者两者并用就可以保持很强的竞争力。这些国家获得巨额的国际收支经常项目顺差、建立起庞大的外汇储备并且将它们的汇率固定下来（或者高度控制）以实现前两个目标，似乎保持了很强的外部稳定性。