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What determines debt intolerance? The role of political and monetary institutions

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  • Giordano, Raffaela
  • Tommasino, Pietro

Abstract

Why do some States default on their debt more often than others? We argue that sovereign default is the outcome of a political struggle among different groups of citizens. It is less likely to happen if domestic debt-holders are politically strong and/or the costs of the financial turmoil typically triggered by a sovereign bankruptcy are large. We show that these conditions are in turn more likely to be present if a country has a strong middle class and/or a sufficiently independent central bank.

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  • Giordano, Raffaela & Tommasino, Pietro, 2011. "What determines debt intolerance? The role of political and monetary institutions," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 471-484, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:27:y:2011:i:3:p:471-484
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    Cited by:

    1. de Haan, J. & Eijffinger, Sylvester, 2016. "The Politics of Central Bank Independence," Discussion Paper 2016-047, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    2. Yong Kyun Kim, 2017. "Inequality and Sovereign Default under Democracy," Journal of Economics and Financial Analysis, Tripal Publishing House, vol. 1(1), pages 81-115.
    3. Massimiliano Affinito & Giorgio Albareto & Raffaele Santioni, 2016. "Purchases of sovereign debt securities by Italian banks during the crisis: the role of balance-sheet conditions," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 330, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    4. D. Masciandaro, 2019. "What Bird Is That? Central Banking And Monetary Policy In The Last Forty Years," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 19127, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    5. Tagkalakis, Athanasios, 2013. "The effects of financial crisis on fiscal positions," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 197-213.
    6. Nöh, Lukas, 2019. "Increasing public debt and the role of central bank independence for debt maturities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 179-198.
    7. Carlos Alberto Piscarreta Pinto Ferreira, 2023. "Drivers of Sovereign Bond Demand – The Case of Japans," Working Papers REM 2023/0264, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    8. Rieder, Kilian, 2022. "Monetary policy decision-making by committee: Why, when and how it can work," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Moiseev, S., 2018. "The Independence of Central Bank: Concept, Methods and Impact of Global Financial Crisis," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 110-136.
    10. Affinito, Massimiliano & Albareto, Giorgio & Santioni, Raffaele, 2022. "Purchases of sovereign debt securities by banks during the crisis: The role of balance sheet conditions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    11. Ostrihoň, Filip, 2022. "Exploring macroeconomic imbalances through EU Alert Mechanism Reports," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    12. repec:bdi:opques:qef_143_01 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Mr. Marco Committeri & Francesco Spadafora, 2013. "You Never Give Me Your Money? Sovereign Debt Crises, Collective Action Problems, and IMF Lending," IMF Working Papers 2013/020, International Monetary Fund.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal sustainability Political economy Financial crises Central bank independence;

    JEL classification:

    • E51 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt

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