In their recent provocative book Why Nations Fail, political scientist Daron Acemoglu and economist James A. Robinson contend that nations fail when they become “extractive” in their exercise of political power. According to the authors, the neoliberal system of market-centred competition...

A sovereign green bond presents countries with an opportunity to demonstrate national leadership in the green financing agenda while giving exposure to a new investor base and solidifying a country's commitment to complying with the Paris Climate Change Agreement. While green bonds allow...

In the 1990s, the importance of international rating agencies became more pronounced among stakeholders who were interested in screening companies based on specific financial criteria. Now with a focus on sustainability, stakeholders are interested in screening companies on both financial and...

Many governments have started issuing 'green' bonds tied to expenditures on projects with environmental objectives such as climate change mitigation. While well-intentioned, issuance of a green bond by an investment-grade sovereign has no environmental impact, leaves funding costs unchanged,...

In this paper we document the stylized facts about the relationship between international oil price swings, sovereign risk and macroeconomic performance of oil-exporting economies. We show that even though being a bigger oil producer decreases sovereign risk–because it increases a...