Sovereign default and the structure of private external debt

Abstract

Abstract While the literature on determinants of sovereign default is voluminous, the links between private indebtedness and the probability of public bankruptcy have not been studied extensively. In this paper we aim to fill this gap and to shed more light on the influence of the size and structure of private debt on sovereign default probability. We focus on developing and emerging market economies over the years 1970–2012. The main conclusions are that both the size and the structure of private borrowings affect the probability of a sovereign default.