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Distributional Incentives in an Equilibrium Model of Domestic Sovereign Default

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  • Pablo D'Erasmo

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)

  • Enrique Mendoza

    (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

Europe’s debt crisis resembles historical episodes of outright default on domestic public debt about which little research exists. This paper proposes a theory of domestic sovereign default based on distributional incentives affecting the welfare of risk-averse debt and non debtholders. A utilitarian government cannot sustain debt if default is costless. If default is costly, debt with default risk is sustainable, and debt falls as the concentration of debt ownership rises. A government favoring bond holders can also sustain debt, with debt rising as ownership becomes more concentrated. These results are robust to adding foreign investors, redistributive taxes, or a second asset.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo D'Erasmo & Enrique Mendoza, 2015. "Distributional Incentives in an Equilibrium Model of Domestic Sovereign Default," PIER Working Paper Archive 15-031, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 27 Aug 2015.
    • Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:15-031
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    public debt; sovereign default; European debt crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt

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