The black letter law says that money damages are the preferred remedy for contract breach under US law. Specific performance is reserved for extraordinary circumstances. Contract theory tells us that default rules generally reflect what a majority of contracting parties would agree to, had they...

A much-debated question in contract law scholarship is what the optimal measure of damages for breach should be. The casebook answer, drawing from the theory of efficient breach, is expectation damages. This standard answer, which was a major contribution of the law and economics field, has come...

Countries with large debts stocks are vulnerable to the vagaries of the markets. Confidence crises can arise out of nowhere, constricting access to the markets. Hence, the question arises as to whether these countries should put in place mechanisms that will help them better prepare for the...

Countries with large debts stocks are vulnerable to the vagaries of the markets. Confidence crises can arise out of nowhere, constricting access to the markets. Hence, the question arises as to whether these countries should put in place mechanisms that will help them better prepare for the...

Countries with large debts stocks are vulnerable to the vagaries of the markets. Confidence crises can arise out of nowhere, constricting access to the markets. Hence, the question arises as to whether these countries should put in place mechanisms that will help them better prepare for the...

The Second Circuit's decision in NML Capital, Ltd. v. Republic of Argentina may have created a significant problem for any country that faces a need to restructure its outstanding debt, including countries in the Eurozone presently in crisis. By interpreting the pari passu clause of Argentina's...

As the Eurozone debt crisis deepens, many European countries must determine how to restructure their debt, should it become necessary. Italy, while faced with a large debt burden, has the opportunity to prevent a future liquidity crisis by extending maturities on its existing debt. Fortunately,...

Within the next few months, the Greek government, is supposed to persuade private creditors holding about EUR 200bn in its bonds to voluntarily exchange their existing bonds for new bonds that pay roughly 50 percent less. This may work with large creditors whose failure to participate in a debt...