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Code and data files for "Fiscal Policy and Default Risk in Emerging Markets"
TL;DR: In this article, all Matlab and C++ programs necessary to produce the results of the article were described and a spreadsheet with Mexican data was also provided, along with a spreadsheet containing Mexican data.
Abstract: All Matlab and C++ programs necessary to produce the results of the article. There is also a Excel spreadsheet with Mexican data.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a general equilibrium model of both sovereign default and business cycles is proposed, which explains several features of cyclical dynamics around deraults, countercyclical spreads, high debt ratios and key business cycle moments.
Abstract: Emerging markets business cycle models treat default risk as part of an exogenous interest rate on working capital, while sovereign default models treat income fluctuations as an exogenous endowment process with ad-noc default costs. We propose instead a general equilibrium model of both sovereign default and business cycles. In the model, some imported inputs require working capital financing; default on public and private obligations occurs simultaneously. The model explains several features of cyclical dynamics around default triggers an efficiency loss as these inputs are replaced by imperfect substitutes; and default on public and private obligations occurs simultaneously. The model explains several features of cyclical dynamics around deraults, countercyclical spreads, high debt ratios, and key business cycle moments. This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate.
464 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors build a dataset on tax rates for 62 countries for the period 1960-2013 that comprises corporate income, personal income, and value-added tax rates and find that tax policy is a cyclical in industrial countries but mostly procyclical in developing countries.
Abstract: It is well known by now that government spending has typically been procyclical in developing economies but a cyclical or countercyclical in industrial countries. Little, if any, is known, however, about the cyclical behavior of tax rates (as opposed to tax revenues, which are endogenous to the business cycle and hence cannot shed light on the cyclicality of tax policy). The authors build a novel dataset on tax rates for 62 countries for the period 1960-2013 that comprises corporate income, personal income, and value-added tax rates. The authors find that, by and large, tax policy is a cyclical in industrial countries but mostly procyclical in developing countries. Further, tax policy in countries with better institutions and or more integrated with world capital markets tends to be less procyclical or more countercyclical.
142 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors extend the model used in recent quantitative studies of sovereign default, allowing policymakers of different types to stochastically alternate in power, and show that a default episode may be triggered by a change in the type of policymaker in office, and that such a default is likely to occur only if there is enough political stability and if policymakers encounter poor economic conditions.
Abstract: We extend the model used in recent quantitative studies of sovereign default, allowing policymakers of different types to stochastically alternate in power. We show that a default episode may be triggered by a change in the type of policymaker in office, and that such a default is likely to occur only if there is enough political stability and if policymakers encounter poor economic conditions. Under high political stability, political turnover enables the model to generate a weaker correlation between economic conditions and default decisions, a higher and more volatile spread, and lower borrowing levels after a default episode.
132 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify critical flaws in the traditional approach to evaluate debt sustainability, and examine three alternative approaches that provide useful econometric and model-simulation tools to analyze debt sustainability.
Abstract: The question of what is a sustainable public debt is paramount in the macroeconomic analysis of fiscal policy. This question is usually formulated as asking whether the outstanding public debt and its projected path are consistent with those of the government's revenues and expenditures (ie, whether fiscal solvency conditions hold). We identify critical flaws in the traditional approach to evaluate debt sustainability, and examine three alternative approaches that provide useful econometric and model-simulation tools to analyze debt sustainability. The first approach is Bohn's nonstructural empirical framework based on a fiscal reaction function that characterizes the dynamics of sustainable debt and primary balances. The second is a structural approach based on a calibrated dynamic general equilibrium framework with a fully specified fiscal sector, which we use to quantify the positive and normative effects of fiscal policies aimed at restoring fiscal solvency in response to changes in debt. The third approach deviates from the others in assuming that governments cannot commit to repay their domestic debt and can thus optimally decide to default even if debt is sustainable in terms of fiscal solvency. We use these three approaches to analyze debt sustainability in the United States and Europe after the sharp increases in public debt following the 2008 crisis, and find that all three raise serious questions about the prospects of fiscal adjustment and its consequences.
110 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study the sovereign default model that has been used to account for the cyclical behavior of interest rates in emerging market economies and show that this method necessitates a large number of grid points to avoid generating spurious interestrate movements.
Abstract: We study the sovereign default model that has been used to account for the cyclical behavior of interest rates in emerging market economies. This model is often solved using the discrete state space technique with evenly spaced grid points. We show that this method necessitates a large number of grid points to avoid generating spurious interestrate movements. This makes the discrete state technique significantly more inefficient than using Chebyshev polynomials or cubic spline interpolation to approximate the value functions. We show that the inefficiency of the discrete state space technique is more severe for parameterizations that feature a high sensitivity of the bond price to the borrowing level for the borrowing levels that are observed more frequently in the simulations. In addition, we find that the efficiency of the discrete state space technique can be greatly improved by (i) finding the equilibrium as the limit of the equilibrium of the finite-horizon version of the model, instead of iterating separately on the value and bond price functions and (ii) concentrating grid points in asset levels at which the bond price is more sensitive to the borrowing level and in levels that are observed more often in the model simulations. Our analysis is also relevant for the study of other credit markets.
105 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors extend the traditional sovereign default framework to incorporate bankers who lend to both the government and the corporate sector, and show that when these bankers are highly exposed to government debt, a default triggers a banking crisis, which leads to a corporate credit collapse and subsequently to an output decline.
Abstract: Episodes of sovereign default feature three key empirical regularities in connection with the banking systems of the countries where they occur: (i) sovereign defaults and banking crises tend to happen together, (ii) commercial banks have substantial holdings of government debt, and (iii) sovereign defaults result in major contractions in bank credit and production. This paper provides a rationale for these phenomena by extending the traditional sovereign default framework to incorporate bankers who lend to both the government and the corporate sector. When these bankers are highly exposed to government debt, a default triggers a banking crisis, which leads to a corporate credit collapse and subsequently to an output decline. When calibrated to the 2001-02 Argentine default episode, the model is able to produce default in equilibrium at observed frequencies, and when defaults occur credit contracts sharply, generating output drops of 6% below trend, on average. Moreover, the model matches several moments of the data on macroeconomic aggregates, sovereign borrowing, and scal policy. The framework presented can also be useful for studying the optimality of fractional defaults and the political economy of domestic debt repudiation.
61 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors employ a new panel data set which contains sovereign yield spreads for 26 emerging and advanced economies and estimate the eects of cuts of government consumption on yield spreads and economic activity.
Abstract: Austerity measures are frequently enacted when the sustainability of public finances is in doubt. Such doubts are reflected in high sovereign yield spreads and put further strain on government finances. Is austerity successful in restoring market confidence, bringing about a reduction in yield spreads? We employ a new panel data set which contains sovereign yield spreads for 26 emerging and advanced economies and estimate the eects of cuts of government consumption on yield spreads and economic activity. The conditions under which austerity takes place are crucial. During times of fiscal stress, spreads rise in response to the spending cuts, at least in the short-run. In contrast, austerity pays o, if conditions are more benign.
60 citations
TL;DR: The authors used a panel logit model to estimate default probabilities of 78 emerging market countries (1984-97) as a function of a set of economic and political variables, and compared the default rates associated with the sovereign credit ratings of the two major rating agencies, Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's.
Abstract: The January 2001 proposal for a New Basel Capital Accord has renewed the interest in obtaining default probabilities for various types of borrowers. This paper uses a panel logit model to estimate default probabilities of 78 emerging market countries (1984-97) as a function of a set of economic and political variables. These sovereign default probabilities are then compared with the default rates associated with the sovereign credit ratings of the two major rating agencies, Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's. Unlike the existing literature, we define the dependent variable ("sovereign default") differently, using the changes in the levels of debt arrears and amounts rescheduled as criteria instead of the levels themselves. The paper finds, first, that the most important determinants of sovereign default appear to be the past repayment performance of a country, the cost of international credit, the volatility of per capita income, and political risks. Second, the comparison of estimated default probabilities with rating agencies' default rates gives some preliminary evidence that the latter seem to considerably underestimate sovereign default risk. In other words, sovereign credit ratings appear to be to high on average.
57 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the possibility that threats of such losses are the dominant incentive for repayment of international debt, and they show that such proposals would also weaken the incentives that make private international debt possible.
57 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors study a developing country characterized by a costly tax collection and show that the patterns of optimal tax rates and borrowing in the presence of endogenous borrowing constraints differ considerably from the patterns observed with fully integrated capital markets.
Abstract: This paper shows that the patterns of optimal tax rates and borrowing in the presence of endogenous borrowing constraints differ considerably from the patterns observed with fully integrated capital markets We study a developing country characterized by a costly tax collection Its access to the international credit market is determined by the efficiency of the tax system and the relative bargaining power of creditors Partial defaults induce a `burden shifting' from bad to good states of nature, reducing the cost of borrowing, implying that a switch from no default to a partial default regime is associated with a borrowing boom The switch to a partial default regime is associated with financial fragility, where small adverse changes in fundamentals lead to a large accumulation of debt The tax rate exhibits strong counter-cyclical patterns in economies operating at the credit ceiling, whereas the tax rate exhibits strong pro-cyclical patterns in economies operating on the upward sloping portion of the supply of credit, where the risk premium is positive, and very little cyclical patterns in economies operating on the elastic portion of the supply of credit We identify a volatility- debt curve for a given realization of output With low debt, higher volatility tends to reduce borrowing When volatility reaches a threshold, we observe a switch from a no default to a partial default regime, where a further rise in volatility increases borrowing and reduces present taxes
54 citations