Eurozone Breakup Would Have Disastrous Effects On World's Poorest Countries: Oxfam

If the Eurozone breaks up, it's not going to be just Europe that suffers.

The world's poorest countries stand to lose some $30 billion in trade and investment if worse comes to worst in the Eurozone, according to a brief released Friday by the relief organization Oxfam.

The brief lists 48 countries, most of them in Africa, where export earnings would plunge and investment funds would likely dry up if Europe's troubled currency union were to dissolve.

Oxfam predicts food shortages and other economic calamities for these countries in the event of a Eurozone breakup, and recommends that if things go that way, the G20 coalition -- an international group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors -- should impose a special tax on Europe to make up for the projected shortfall.

A general election in Greece to be held Sunday has put the financial world on edge, since the vote could put leaders into power that would want to take Greece off the euro and put it back on the drachma.

What exactly would happen next isn't clear, but many believe a worldwide financial shock similar to the kind seen in 2008 is possible -- a situation involving cascading government defaults and an international credit crunch, something that would have disastrous effects on the already shaky global economy.