In the last 30 years economic crises have become more frequent and expensive than ever before. This volume provides a pluralistic discussion from world-renowned scholars on the international aspects of the debt crisis and prospects for resolution. It argues that current economic policies exacerbate the problem of inefficient and unstable markets as they are based on standard economic theory which focuses on equilibrium models rather than equilibrium behaviour. It provides a comprehensive evaluation of how the debt crisis has affected Western Europe, the emerging markets and Latin America, and puts forward different suggestions for recovery.
 
The volume is divided into three parts. The first part looks at how the debt crisis has affected different regions around the world and examines lessons for Europe from the Latin American experience. The second section reviews the theory and empirical evidence of the costs of default, and analyses the restructuring process. The final section examines policies, instruments and mechanism for crisis resolution.

Joseph Stiglitz is Professor at Columbia University, USA. In 2001 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his analyses of markets with asymmetric information. He is currently the President of the International Economics Association (2011-2014). He is a former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank, and is a former member, and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Stiglitz is the 4th most influential economist in the world today based on academic citations and in 2011 he was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Daniel Heymann is Coordinator of the Unit of Macroeconomic Analysis of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Buenos Aires. He is also Professor of Economics at the universities of Buenos Aires, La Plata and San Andrés in Argentina. Heymann has studied extensively the behavior of economies under severe stress. Anchored in the experience of Argentina, his work has explored from theoretical and policy perspectives the macroeconomic phenomena of high inflations and debt crises.

PART I: ANALYTICAL ISSUES
1.1. Crises: Principles and Policies; Joseph Stiglitz
1.2. Comments; Martin Guzman
PART II: DEBT CRISES: VARIETIES OF EXPERIENCES
2.1. The Latin American Debt Crisis in Historical Perspective; José Antonio Ocampo
2.2. Comments; Pablo Sanguinetti
2.3. What have the Crises in Emerging Markets and the Eurozone in Common and What Differentiates Them?; Roberto Frenkel
2.4. Comments; Ricardo Beczuk
2.5. From Austerity to Growth in Europe: some Lessons from Latin America; Stephany Griffith-Jones
2.6. Comments; Hernán Seoane
PART III: DEBT DEFAULTS: COSTS AND RESTRUCTURING GAMES
3.1. Strategic Behavior in Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Impact and Policy Responses; Rohan Pitchford and Mark L. J. Wright
3.2. Comments; Federico Weinschelbaum
3.3. Sovereign Debt Restructuring: The Road Ahead; Benu Schneider
3.4. Comments; Fernando Navajas
PART IV: DEALING WITH CRISES: INSTRUMENTS AND POLICIES
4.1. Saving the Euro: Self-fulfilling Crisis and the 'Draghi Put'; Marcus Miller
4.2. Comments; Alfredo Schclarek Curutchet
4.3. GDP-Linked Bonds and Sovereign Default; David Barr, Oliver Bush and Alex Pienkowski
4.4. Comments; Enrique Kawamura
4.5. Multiple Choices: Economic Policies in Crisis; Daniel Heymann and Axel Leijonhufvud
4.6. Comments; Jorge Carrera