MEXICO CITY, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Harvard University economist Jeffrey Sachs on Tuesday called for temporarily nationalizing Asian banks to help pull the region out of recession, according to a column in a Mexican newspaper.
The influential economist has emerged as a leading critic of how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has handled the Asian financial crisis.
In a column appearing in Spanish in the Mexico City daily Reforma on Tuesday, Sachs recommended three financial policies that he called "crucial," including a government takeover of banks in order to recapitalize them.
"Asian governments need to inject fresh capital into the banks, in fact, completely or partially nationalizing the banks in a temporary fashion," Sachs wrote. "The governments could then sell their stakes in the banks, looking for foreign and domestic investors."
Sachs also called for debt relief for industrial companies and an end to tight restrictions on credit demanded by the IMF.