Dealing with Debt: The 1930s and the 1980s

The debt crisis of the 1930s illustrates the difficulty of global plans for resolving the debt crisis-and underscores the impor-tance of market-based debt-reduction schemes. It highlights the advantages of dispersing foreign obligations among many pri-vate investors rather than concentrating them in the hands of financially vulnerable commercial banks. Ihe Policy, Planning, and Research Coanplex distributes PPR W.:king Papets todisserinate the findings of work in progress and to encourage the exchange of ideas among Bank staff and all others interested in development issues. These papers carry the names of the authors, refleat only their views, and should be used and cited accordingly. The fundings, interpretations, and conclusions are the authors ' own. They should not be attributed to the World Bank, its Board of Directors, its management, or any of its member countries. Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz e