Multilateral development banks are sometimes thought to engage in "defensive lending" -- the practice of extending new loans purely in order to ensure that existing loans are repaid. We empirically examine this hypothesis using data on lending extended by and repayments to the International...

This paper presents a theory of the maturity of international sovereign debt, and derives its implications for the reform of the international financial architecture. The analysis is based on a model in which the need to roll over external debt disciplines the policies of debtor countries, but...

The cancellation of the debt of the world’s poorest countries has brought about a recovery in their financial situation. However, some current new borrowing strategies, notably with regard to emerging lenders, pose risks for these economies.

The Secretary General's Report to the UN's 2005 World Summit called for a policy ofdebt sustainability that would support the development goals contained in the UN's 2000 Millennium Declaration. Debt sustainability analysis currently practiced by the multilateral financial institutions focuses...

The Secretary General's Report to the UN's 2005 World Summit called for a policy ofdebt sustainability that would support the development goals contained in the UN's 2000 Millennium Declaration. Debt sustainability analysis currently practiced by the multilateral financial institutions focuses...

The paper reviews the area of the international financial architecture relating tosovereign crisis resolution. It is argued that shifting part of the burden of crisisresolution onto creditors may encourage debtor countries to take early action to counter an unsustainable debt path. Collective...

The paper reviews the area of the international financial architecture relating tosovereign crisis resolution. It is argued that shifting part of the burden of crisisresolution onto creditors may encourage debtor countries to take early action to counter an unsustainable debt path. Collective...

In this paper I investigate the effects of recent debt relief initiatives on resource flows to low-income developing countries. For countries that are part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, I find that good macroeconomic management does not influence the level of resource...

This paper studies a small open economy with a large external debt. It begins by considering the long-term effects of shocks in the international capital market and domestic fiscal policy on the amount of outstanding external debt and the domestic reallocation of resources between the tradable...