the causal connection between lack of exposure to commercial trade and proclivity to sudden stops. On the theoretical … front, the paper shows how exposure to trade raises the creditworthiness of countries and reduces the probability of sudden … trade increases the likelihood of default. A sudden stop takes place when the borrowers reject the amount that lenders want …

Openness to trade is one factor that has been identified as determining whether a country is prone to sudden stops in … problem that trade is endogenous. Using the gravity instrument for trade openness, which is constructed from geographical … determinants of bilateral trade, this paper finds that openness indeed makes countries less vulnerable, both to severe sudden stops …