How does private foreign borrowing affect the risk of sovereign default in developing countries?

We argue that increased foreign borrowing by the private sector reduces the risk that a developing country's government defaults on its foreign debt. We present a simple model in which private foreign borrowing reflects a surge of private entrepreneurship. A larger "entrepreneurial class" raises the political costs of default and reduces the government's incentive to deny repayment. The results of our empirical analysis support the model's key hypothesis.