The lack of a supra-national legal authority that can enforce private contracts across borders makes debt repayment in an international setting contingent on borrowers' willingness to pay rather than ability to pay. This market failure (i.e., inadequate enforcement) causes investment to fall...

The lack of a supra-national legal authority that can enforce private contracts across borders makes debt repayment in an international setting contingent on borrowers' willingness to pay rather than ability to pay. This market failure (i.e., inadequate enforcement) causes investment to fall...

International nancial markets are far from perfect. Because of problems related to contract enforcement borrowers often end up being rationed; the lenders tend to constrain the amount lent ex ante in order to motivate the borrowers to ful l their obligations and not default ex post. In this paper...