This article surveys the literature on sovereign debt sustainability from its origins in the mid-1980s to the present, focusing on four debates. First, the shift from an "accounting based" view of debt sustainability, evaluated using government borrowing rates, to a "model based" view which uses...

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Fiscal Policy and Government Debt in the 21st Century -- Chapter 3. European Debt Crisis and Flaws of the Euro Area -- Chapter 4. Sovereign Debt Channels in the Euro Area -- Chapter 5. European Fiscal and Debt Union -- Chapter 6. Specific Characteristics of...

Fiscal austerity has not led to a return of confidence and it is not at all certain that the current crisis strategy can be sustained politically and will eventually succeed. Government bonds of crisis-hit countries have lost their safe asset status and high risk premiums are impairing monetary...

This paper analyzes different government debt relief programs in the European Monetary Union. I build a model and study different options ranging from debt relief to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The analysis reveals the following: First, patient countries repay debt, while impatient...