The economies hit hardest by the European sovereign debt crisis in the 2010s were southern European countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece. In exchange for big bailouts from their northerly neighbors, they enforced strict austerity measures and unemployment soared.

“That was, at the time, very painful for those economies,” Chelsey Dulaney of the Wall Street Journal said. “But what it did was sort of set the stage for these economies to emerge a lot stronger.”

Meanwhile, some northern European countries are now having some debt issues of their own.

“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal talked to Dulaney about her and her colleagues’ reporting on this European economic role reversal.

To listen to their conversation, use the media player above.