Since their inception in 1987, debt-for-nature swaps (D4NS) have emerged as a popular policy tool to simultaneously address sovereign debt burdens and environmental challenges. Drawing on a newly constructed database of global D4NS transactions, this paper shows that Asian economies have played...

This paper examines the origins, evolution, and resolution efforts surrounding Sri Lanka's 2022 sovereign debt default. Many defaults are triggered by sudden external shocks, but, in contrast, Sri Lanka's crisis was largely the result of prolonged domestic policy failures, including chronic...

Britain's debt was nil in 1688 and 60% of GDP in 1717. From 1717 to 1722 the debt was restructured, including through the South Sea operation of 1720. I discuss the reasons for the restructuring and the tensions it revealed between taxpayers and creditors. The South Sea bubble turned the...