Capital flows across borders have grown enormously since the 1990s. Financial integration has produced benefits (capital flows to where it is most productive) and risks (crises spread rapidly).

• Asian financial crisis (1997-1998): Currency speculations and capital flight caused severe recessions in Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, and other Asian economies
• 2008 global financial crisis: U.S. subprime mortgage collapse triggered the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression. Major banks required government bailouts. Stock markets crashed. The Great Recession followed.
• European sovereign debt crisis (2010-2012): Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Italy faced sovereign debt crises that threatened the survival of the euro

III. The Technological Revolution

The technological transformations of the past three decades have been as profound as the original Industrial Revolution. The digital revolution has changed how people communicate, work, learn, shop, and entertain themselves. Maria has lived her entire life within this transformation.