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Sovereign debt defaults: insights from history

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  • Kim Oosterlinck

Abstract

History provides many insights to address the issue of sovereign debt defaults. This article first presents a detailed account of defaults in historical perspective. It then discusses the solutions devised in the past to address sovereign debt crises and puts these into perspective with today’s answers when crises occur. Finally, the paper stresses the role of history when the events studied do not occur frequently and when archival data may shed new light on the process of the resolution of crises. The impact of odious debts declarations, of state succession, and of international relations on sovereign defaults and on their settlement is thus also addressed. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.

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  • Kim Oosterlinck, 2013. "Sovereign debt defaults: insights from history," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 29(4), pages 697-714, WINTER.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxford:v:29:y:2013:i:4:p:697-714
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    Cited by:

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    2. Michel Aglietta & Xavier Ragot, 2015. "Érosion du tissu productif en France. Causes et remèdes," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 0(6), pages 95-150.
    3. Leonor Freire Costa & Susana Münch Miranda, 2023. "Reputational recovery under political instability: Public debt in Portugal, 1641–83," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(3), pages 871-891, August.
    4. Francois R. Velde, 2016. "What We Learn from a Sovereign Debt Restructuring in France in 1721," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, issue 5, pages 1-17.
    5. Horn, Sebastian & Reinhart, Carmen M. & Trebesch, Christoph, 2021. "China's overseas lending," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    6. Chun‐Yu Ho & Dan Li, 2024. "Credibility building in the sovereign debt market: Evidence from prewar China," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(2), pages 675-702, May.
    7. Sasha Indarte, 2017. "Contagion via Financial Intermediaries in Pre-1914 Sovereign Debt Markets," 2017 Meeting Papers 1141, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    8. Mitchener, Kris & Trebesch, Christoph, 2021. "Sovereign Debt in the 21st Century: Looking Backward, Looking Forward," CEPR Discussion Papers 15935, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5bhbhfsmhj981b00go8c6saind is not listed on IDEAS
    10. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5bhbhfsmhj981b00go8c6saind is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Papadia, Andrea, 2017. "Sovereign defaults during the Great Depression: the role of fiscal fragility," Economic History Working Papers 68943, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    12. Flores Zendejas, Juan, 2015. "Capital Markets and Sovereign Defaults: A Historical Perspective," Working Papers unige:73325, University of Geneva, Paul Bairoch Institute of Economic History.
    13. Oosterlinck, Kim & Accominotti, Olivier & BRIERE, Marie & Burietz, Aurore & Szafarz, Ariane, 2020. "Did Globalization Kill Contagion?," CEPR Discussion Papers 14395, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    14. Oosterlinck, Kim & Ureche-Rangau, Loredana & Vaslin, Jacques-Marie, 2019. "Aristocratic Privilege. Exploiting “Good†Institutions," CEPR Discussion Papers 14071, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Rohan Pitchford & Mark L. J. Wright, 2013. "On the contribution of game theory to the study of sovereign debt and default," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 29(4), pages 649-667, WINTER.

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    JEL classification:

    • N20 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions

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