This paper provides a new interpretation of the early rise of rating agencies in the United States (initially known as ‘Mercantile Agencies’). We explain this American exceptionality through an inductive approach that revisits the conventional parallel with the UK. In contrast with earlier...

This paper provides a new interpretation of the early rise of rating agencies in the USA (initially known as 'mercantile agencies'). We explain this American exceptionality through an inductive approach that revisits the conventional parallel with the UK. In contrast with earlier narratives that...

This article serves as an introduction to two issues of the <italic>Oxford Review of Economic Policy</italic>, one entitled ‘Sovereign Debt: Understanding Bond Markets During the Eurozone Crisis’ and the second ‘Sovereign Debt: Lessons from the Past, Reforms for the Future’. We begin by documenting...

In this short article we provide an introduction to the issue of the <italic>Oxford Review of Economic Policy</italic> entitled ‘Sovereign Debt: Lessons from the Past, Reforms for the Future’. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.

Portugal was the first independent nation to follow Britain in joining the gold standard. Although beset by persistent current account deficits and heavily dependent on foreign capital inflows, it enjoyed a relatively stable tenure of 37 years on gold. This paper shows how it was possible to...

This paper studies the role of market-based solutions in the enforcement of sovereign debt contracts. A simple theoretical framework implies that there is scope for bondholders' committees to improve the governance of the market, as measured by the frequency and outcome of defaults. We test this...