ABSTRACT
This chapter describes occurrences and characteristics of global debt crises using quantitative indicators aggregated on the global level of the world-economy covering virtually all cases of debt-service incapacity from 1820 to 1989. The empirical material concerning the outbreak and duration of debt service incapacity supports the basic hypothesis that global debt crises occur during stagnation periods of global growth cycles. The concept of "debt crisis" as utilized as the incapacity or unwillingness of sovereign borrowers to meet their debt-service obligations. Foreign investment of major core countries refers to accumulated net capital exports of Great Britain, France, Germany, and the United States. The ratio of external debt to Gross national product has been used as a measure of the magnitude of debt burden as well as of the debt dependence from international financial markets of the borrowing country. The ratio of international reserves to imports is a liquidity measure.
