Rather, over the years, the crisis seems to have “morphed” from one of real-estate bubbles and lax underwriting standards, mostly in the US, to one of unsustainable debt burdens in the periphery of the eurozone, and now to one of excess corporate leverage and deteriorating macroeconomic conditions in several regions of the emerging world.
Policy responses appear uncoordinated between regions, addressing some immediate problems but also fuelling imbalances and exposing policy contradictions elsewhere. Looking at the mix of slowing growth and high private-sector leverage in emerging Asia, in particular China, some observers wonder whether the world may face a repeat of the 1997–98 Asian crisis.