Default: why sovereign debt matters

When, why and how do countries go bust? That’s the topic of the latest New Money Review podcast, where I’m joined by Greg Makoff, a former physicist, banker, government advisor and now senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.Makoff is the author of a recent book on what has been called “the most contentious default in history”—Argentina’s 2001-2016 debt restructuring.In the podcast, we discuss:When, why and how countries go bustWhat distinguishes a sovereign insolvency from a corporate or personal bankruptcyWho has jurisdiction over sovereign defaults?What brings governments and creditors to the table?Sovereign immunity and the negotiating power between debtor and creditorWhat went wrong in Argentina’s debt restructuring?How Elliott Capital Management made billions on defaulted Argentinian debtThe broader public policy lessons of Argentina’s debt restructuringChina, the IMF and the geopolitics of sovereign debtDefault risk in domestic and foreign currency bondsWhy sovereign debt problems will never go away