Can a negative shock to sovereign ratings invoke a vicious cycle of increasing government bond yields and further downgrades, ultimately pushing a country toward default? The narratives of public and political discussions, as well as of some widely cited papers, suggest this possibility. In this...

This paper asks whether the sensitivity of market long-term interest rates and credit ratings is associated with cross-country differences in informal institutions, measured by social trust. We note a number of theoretical mechanisms that could imply that similar objective problems are more...

"Emerging markets are an increasingly important area of corporate strategy and fast becoming the driver of global growth. Today, emerging markets account for 40% of global GDP and are experiencing growth rates two or three times faster than developed economies. Not surprisingly, investment...