Sovereign Default, Terms of Trade and Interest Rates in Emerging Markets

Emerging economies tend to experience larger fluctuations in their terms of trade, countercyclical interest rates and more default episodes than developed countries. These structural features might suggest a relevant role for world prices in driving country spreads. This paper studies the role of terms of trade shocks in inducing output fluctuations and countercyclical spreads using a stochastic dynamic general equilibrium model of a small open economy. The model predicts that default incentives and default premia are higher in recessions, as observed in the data. In a quantitative exercise, the model matches various features of emerging economies and can account for the dynamics of default episodes in these markets.