This paper examines the aggregate implications of sovereign credit risk in a business cycle model in which banks are exposed to risky government debt. An increase in the probability of a future sovereign default leads to a reduction in credit to firms because of two channels. First, it lowers...

We characterize optimal taxation of foreign capital and optimal sovereign debt policy in a small open economy where the government cannot commit to policy and seeks to insure a risk averse domestic constituency. The expected tax on capital is shown to vary with the state of the economy,...

We address the question of whether and how a sovereign should reduce its external indebtedness when default is a significant possibility, with a particular focus on whether a sovereign should buy back or dilute existing long-term sovereign bonds. Our main finding is that when reduction of debt...

The paper presents a model of sovereign debt repayment based in a tragedy of the commons. It is shown that sovereign debt is issued and repaid in equilibrium, even when contracts a la Bulow-Rogoff are available to a country that defaults.

This paper studies the link between banking crises, sovereign default and government guarantees. A banking crisis can lead to a domestic credit crunch, which can be mitigated by government guarantees. However, the provision of bailout guaran- tees exposes the government to potentially severe...

How does the optimal design of macroprudential capital controls depend on the ability of some agents to circumvent regulation? To address this question, we study the interaction between a regulated and an unregulated sphere in a model economy where pecuniary externalities calls for ex-ante...

We develop a new framework for studying the implementation of monetary policy through the banking sector. Banks are subject to a maturity mismatch problem leading to precautionary holdings of reserves. Through various instruments, monetary policy alters tradeos banks face between lending,...

The paper shows that inequality in private income among US households is, in the aftermath of the Great Recession, at its postwar highs, both at the bottom and at the top of the distribution. The increase in inequality at the bottom seems to be tightly linked to the historically high level of...

imbalance.