CAMBRIDGE: The emerging markets crisis has jumped across the Atlantic Ocean, to engulf Brazil and several other Latin American countries. Forecasts of economic growth are being marked down sharply. A couple of months ago, most forecasters expected that Brazil would achieve positive economic growth in 1999. The consensus is now that Brazil will fall into recession. As in Asia, the IMF is riding to the rescue, sponsoring a huge international bailout loan. But as in Asia, the IMF’s recipes could easily do more harm than good, forcing Brazil into an even deeper abyss than it finds itself in right now.
CAMBRIDGE: The emerging markets crisis has jumped across the Atlantic Ocean, to engulf Brazil and several other Latin American countries. Forecasts of economic growth are being marked down sharply. A couple of months ago, most forecasters expected that Brazil would achieve positive economic growth in 1999. The consensus is now that Brazil will fall into recession. As in Asia, the IMF is riding to the rescue, sponsoring a huge international bailout loan. But as in Asia, the IMF’s recipes could easily do more harm than good, forcing Brazil into an even deeper abyss than it finds itself in right now.