An examination of sovereign defaults over the long term, from 1294 to 2008, shows that serial defaults are far rarer than the much-ballyhooed experience of the 1980s suggests. the only mass default in Europe since 1294 took place in the early nineteenth century during the Napoleonic Wars. The...

A key feature of the full sovereign default record from 1294-2008 is that serial default is far rarer than the much-ballyhooed 1980s experience suggests. The only mass default in Europe’s long record, dating back to 1294, occurs during the Napoleonic Wars (1800-1815). The majority of the...

Evidence on the degree to which central bank independence can constrain government budget deficits remains surprisingly scarce. This paper finds empirical support for the importance of the central institutional constraint for a 14-country sample of Latin American countries over 1990-2012. These...