The declining importance of domestic household consumption within the economy reflects a general trend in Asia. The share of private consumption to gross domestic product in countries such as Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines has declined significantly over the past decade. The Asian financial crisis shattered investor and consumer confidence, and Asian economies resorted to exporting their way out of recession. In the U.S., where the focus was on helping the country recover from the burst of the Internet bubble, interest rates were pushed to 50-year lows in an effort to encourage consumer spending. Low mortgage rates and an attendant rise in property prices created a “wealth effect” among homeowners. American consumers thus went on a spending spree, drawing in imports from Asia.