We study the Ramsey policy problem in an economy in which firms face a collateral constraint. Issuing more public debt … alleviates this friction by increasing the aggregate quantity of collateral. In so doing, however, the issuance of more debt also … raises interest rates, which in turn increases the tax burden of servicing the entire outstanding debt. We first document how …

We take a first pass at quantifying the magnitudes of debt relief achieved through default and restructuring in two … distinct samples: 1979-2010, focusing on credit events in emerging markets, and 1920-1939, documenting the official debt …); sovereign credit ratings; debt servicing burdens relative to GDP, fiscal revenues, and exports; as well as the level of …

government's future expenditures, including the servicing of its outstanding official debt, be covered by its government's future … permanently cut all spending, apart from servicing outstanding debt, by 22.4 percent. How can a country with vast energy resources … and foreign reserves and other financial assets that exceed its official debt still have very major fiscal problems? The …

that more aggressive responses of offsetting policies to debt engender less debt accumulation and less costly tax cuts. …

government to issue debt to finance capital items only. Many national governments followed this rule in the 18th and 19th …