during the 1970s, banks in advanced countries lent large sums to firms and governments in poorer nations, especially in latin america. in 1982, however, this era of easy credit came to a sudden end when mexico, then a number of other countries, found themselves unable to pay the money they owed. the resulting debt crisis persisted until 1990. in the 1990s investors once again became willing to put hundreds of billion of dollar into emerging markets, both in latin america and in the rapidly growing economies of asia. all too soon, however, this investment boom too came to grief; mexico experienced another financial crisis at the end of 1994, and much of asia was caught up in a massive crisis beginning in the summer of 1997. this roller coaster history contains many lessons, the most undisputed of which is the growing importance of the international capital market.