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Infation, default and sovereign debt: The role of denomination and ownership

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  • Sunder-Plassmann, Laura

Abstract

Emerging market governments hold mixed debt portfolios: They borrow at home and abroad in both nominal and real terms. This paper incorporates such a mixed debt structure into a theory of sovereign debt, default and inflation. The government optimally uses both default and inflation to balance its budget. The portfolio structure affects the relative benefits of inflation, default and incentives to accumulate debt. A calibrated version of the model can account for key features of the Mexican economy. We use the model to study if portfolio shifts away from purely real and external debt contributed to emerging market disinflation in the mid 1990s. We find that the answer depends on the distinction between ownership and denomination: Increasingly nominal debt is inflationary if held abroad, but lowers inflation if held at home.

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  • Sunder-Plassmann, Laura, 2020. "Infation, default and sovereign debt: The role of denomination and ownership," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:inecon:v:127:y:2020:i:c:s0022199620301082
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2020.103393
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    Cited by:

    1. Illenin Kondo & Fabrizio Perri & Sewon Hur, 2016. "Inflation, Debt, and Default," 2016 Meeting Papers 1610, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    2. Cristina Arellano & Gabriel Mihalache & Yan Bai, 2018. "Inflation Targeting with Sovereign Default Risk," 2018 Meeting Papers 851, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. Mesbah Fathy Sharaf & Abdelhalem Mahmoud Shahen, 2023. "Does external debt drive inflation in Sudan: evidence from symmetric and asymmetric ARDL approaches," Journal of Business and Socio-economic Development, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 3(4), pages 293-307, August.
    4. Maeng, F. S., 2024. "Default, Inflation Expectations, and the Currency Denomination of Sovereign Bonds," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2438, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    5. Emilio Espino & Julian Kozlowski & Fernando M. Martin & Juan M. Sanchez, 2020. "Domestic Policies and Sovereign Default," Working Papers 2020-017, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, revised 06 Sep 2023.
    6. Cristina Arellano & Gabriel Mihalache & Yan Bai, 2018. "Inflation Targeting with Sovereign Default Risk," 2018 Meeting Papers 851, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. Paczos, Wojtek & Shakhnov, Kirill, 2022. "Defaulting on Covid debt," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    8. Patricia Gomez-Gonzalez, 2021. "Drivers of inflation-linked public debt: an empirical investigation," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 223-244, February.
    9. Ricardo Sabbadini, 2017. "Overcoming the Original Sin: Gains from Local Currency External Debt," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2017_27, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).

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    Keywords

    Sovereign debt crises; Government debt composition; Inflation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F3 - International Economics - - International Finance
    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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