The financial crisis in Asia will slow the growth of the U.S. economy by at least half of a percentage point, says a professor of economics at UC Davis. Wing Thye Woo, who spent March to December as a special adviser to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, will speak on "The Asian Currency Crisis" at UC Davis on Tuesday, Jan. 27. "When the richest parts of East Asia are in crisis, the demand for our products will surely drop," says Woo. Woo says the International Monetary Fund program of closing banks and forcing countries to implement tight monetary policies in the middle of a financial panic is making matters worse. He says the IMF should stop the practice of automatically bailing out international banks. "The banks have no incentive to be prudent." According to Woo, the IMF should shift some of the responsibility for loan burdens to the international banks. Woo, whose expertise is in international and domestic macroeconomics, is co-editor of "Economies in Transition," published by MIT Press in 1997. His presentation, sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Affairs, will begin at noon in Rm. 360 of the Shields Library.