TOKYO, Japan - February 23, 2010 - The world economy will be hit by several sovereign debt defaults in coming years, according to Ken Rogoff, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, who predicted the global banking crisis.

After banking crises, “we usually see a bunch of sovereign defaults, say in a few years. I predict we will again,” Rogoff, now a professor at Harvard University, said in Tokyo on Tuesday.

“It’s very, very hard to call the timing, but it will happen,” Rogoff told an audience in the Japanese capital. Many countries across the world will be forced to cut their spending once investors demand higher interest rates to lend money, he said.

The prospect of a country defaulting on its debts has long been seen as one of the greatest risks to the global economy this year, with fears currently centered on Greece. As interest rates rise, Greece and Portugal will "have a lot of troubles,” according to Rogoff.

“In rich countries - Germany, the United States and maybe Japan - we are going to see slow growth. They will tighten their belts when the problem hits with interest rates. They will deal with it.”