Too Little, Too Late : The Quest to Resolve Sovereign Debt Crises

The current approach to resolving sovereign debt crises does not work: sovereign debt restructurings come too late and do too little. Though they impose enormous costs on societies, these restructurings are often not deep enough to provide the conditions for economic recovery (as illustrated by the Greek debt restructuring of 2012. And if the debtor decides not to accept the terms demanded by the creditors, finalizing a restructuring can be slowed by legal challenges (as evidenced in Argentina). A fresh start for distressed debtors is a basic principle of a well-functioning market economy, yet