Arellano, Cristina , Atkeson, Andy , L. J. Wright, Mark, (2016), “Debt crises in Europe and US states: Sovereign spillovers on private borrowers”, Voxeu, 10 January
In the recent crisis in Southern Europe both sovereign governments and private citizens faced increased borrowing costs on their external debt. By contrast, no spillover to private borrowers occurred from the recent US state government debt crisis. This column argues that this different experience stems from much weaker European protections from government interference – the risk that governments will encumber private debt contracts by redenominating the currency of the contract, imposing capital controls, or passing debtor relief legislation.
Relevant Posts
- Sandri, Damiano, (2015), “Dealing with Systemic Sovereign Debt Crises: Fiscal Consolidation, Bail-ins or Official Transfers?”, IMF Working Paper, WP/15/223, 16 October
- Knedlik, Tobias, Von Sshweinit, Gregor, (2012),‘Macroeconomic Imbalances as Indicators for Debt Crises in Europe’, Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol.50, Issue 5, p.p.726–745.