## Sovereign Debt Restructurings 1950-2010: Literature Survey, Data, and Stylized Facts

_IMF Working Papers, August 1, 2012_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Sovereign Debt Restructurings 1950-2010: Literature Survey, Data, and Stylized Facts](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/sovereign-debt-restructurings-1950-2010-literature-survey-data-and-stylized-facts-26190)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/sovereign-debt-restructurings-1950-2010-literature-survey-data-and-stylized-facts-26190/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/sovereign-debt-restructurings-1950-2010-literature-survey-data-and-stylized-facts-26190/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/sovereign-debt-restructurings-1950-2010-literature-survey-data-and-stylized-facts-26190/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Christoph Trebesch, Michael G. Papaioannou, Udaibir S Das
- Published: August 1, 2012
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781475505535.001

---

### Overview and scope
- Authors: Christoph Trebesch, Michael G. Papaioannou, Udaibir S Das
- Date: August 1, 2012
- Coverage: six decades, 1950–2010
- Dataset composition:
  - 186 debt exchanges with foreign banks and bondholders
  - 447 bilateral debt agreements with the Paris Club
- Purpose: comprehensive survey of sovereign debt restructurings based on a newly constructed database; first complete dataset of sovereign restructuring cases for 1950–2010

### Key findings and stylized facts
- Outcome and process metrics covered:
  - size of haircuts
  - creditor participation
  - legal aspects
- New stylized facts presented on outcomes and processes of restructurings, including quantitative measures of haircuts and participation rates (specific numeric outcomes are reported in the paper)
- Empirical focus includes:
  - measurement of sovereign default and restructuring frequency over 1950–2010
  - characteristics of restructurings involving bank debt, bond issues, and Paris Club agreements
- Legal and institutional factors analyzed:
  - role of collective action clauses
  - interactions with credit default swaps
  - crisis resolution mechanisms and their evolution

### Literature, analysis, and debates
- Summarizes relevant empirical literature on sovereign debt restructuring
- Analyzes recent restructuring episodes up to 2010
- Discusses ongoing debates on:
  - crisis resolution mechanisms
  - credit default swaps
  - the role and design of collective action clauses in bond contracts

### Subjects and keywords (as listed)
- Subjects: Asset and liability management, Bonds, Debt restructuring, Financial crises, Financial institutions, Public debt, Sovereign debt restructuring
- Keywords: bank debt, bond issue, Bonds, Caribbean, debt limit, debt ratio, Debt Restructuring, Europe, Global, institutional investor, long-term debt, nominal interest rate, short-term debt, sovereign bond, Sovereign debt restructuring, Sovereign Default, WP

---

## Content in this bundle

- **_wp12203 — Appendix / Chapter summary**
  - [_wp12203 — Appendix / Chapter summary (Markdown version)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2012/_wp12203.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [_wp12203 — Appendix / Chapter summary (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2012/_wp12203.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

---

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/sovereign-debt-restructurings-1950-2010-literature-survey-data-and-stylized-facts-26190_