The full report, titled “Global Waves of Debt,” is available at https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/3... -- it is easy to read and follow. Do yourself a favor and read at least the Foreword and Overview. I also find the advance reviews from prominent economists in the initial pages of the report illuminating.

The report documents four major waves of debt accumulation in emerging and developing countries since 1970:

* The first such debt wave ended in the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s.[a]

* The second such debt wave ended in the the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.[b]

* The third such debt wave ended in the global financial crisis of 2007-2009.[c]

* The fourth such debt wave started in 2010, and is the fastest rising as well as the largest.

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[a] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_debt_crisis

[b] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Asian_financial_crisis

[c] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80...