The crisis of 1999 was Colombia's most significant economic crisis since the civil war of 1899-1902: GDP fell by 4.2% in one year and the unemployment rate reached 16%. The trigger of the crisis was an international crisis that reduced capital inflows. Colombia was vulnerable to a reduction in capital inflows due to the high indebtedness of households, firms, and governments at the time. Such indebtedness resulted from a boom in consumption, investment, and public spending during the early and mid-1990s. There is no consensus among scholars on the role of fiscal and monetary policy in alleviating or worsening de crisis.