Drelichman, Mauricio; Voth, Hans-Joachim - In: Explorations in Economic History 48 (2011) 1, pp. 1-19
Philip II of Spain accumulated debts equivalent to 60% of GDP. He also defaulted four times on his short-term loans, thus becoming the first serial defaulter in history. Contrary to a common view in the literature, we show that lending to the king was profitable even under worst-case scenario...
