Princeton Sovereign Finance Lab

In our latest policy brief, Yingxin Angela Chen explores dispute settlement provisions in RMB-denominated sovereign bonds.

Shifts in the currency of issuance haven't been accompanied by shifts in the underlying legal framework for sovereign bonds.

psfl.princeton.edu/document/641

NYU Shanghai Workshop on Sovereign Debt and Development Finance The NYU Shanghai Workshop on Sovereign Debt and Development FinanceDecember 2025Written by Jing Qian, with event notes provided by Lily Blair and Lilly Gessner, and photography by Zhixing (Ken) ZhangO...

It was great to be part of this workshop, organized by @jimqian.bsky.social, at NYU-Shanghai on December 1.

psfl.princeton.edu/events/2025/...

Senegal’s foreign bonds plunge as government rules out restructuring West African nation has become a test of IMF’s ability to deal with hidden debt and secure relief from creditors to support bailouts

Domestic politics of debt crises/restructuring:

-Blame predecessors for high debt burden (hidden debt revelations make this effective).
-Avoid IMF program & conditions.
-Hold out for an improvement in debt servicing capacity, perhaps through resource revenues or taxation.

on.ft.com/3JERoii

We've created a new index of sovereign debt transparency, for 113 countries, 1994 to 2022.

This summary describes the measure and how it is predicted (sometimes) by the electoral cycle, among other things.

psfl.princeton.edu/document/491

@peterrosendorff.bsky.social

@laynamosley.bsky.social

It's the most wonderful time of the year....for debt geeks. @agelpern.bsky.social @upanizza.bsky.social @mkessler.bsky.social and I are so excited to welcome folks to DebtCon8!

web.cvent.com/event/005168...

Emerging market borrowing premium over US falls to nearly lowest since 2007 Yields for investment-grade EM borrowers fall relative to developed markets amid concerns over traditional havens

"Safe assets aren't as safe as they used to be."

www.ft.com/content/c939...

TODAY @ 1:45pm🗓️Debt, Democracy and Development: Princeton Sovereign Finance Lab Reunions Panel #PrincetonReunions
With Professor Layna Mosley @laynamosley.bsky.social
psfl.princeton.edu/events/2025/...

Pleased to co-sponsor the inaugural conference of the NYU Sovereign Debt Network!

wp.nyu.edu/sfrn/nyu-pes...

Looking forward to this conference, on the political economy of sovereign debt.

wp.nyu.edu/sfrn/nyu-pes...

Interested in sovereign debt transparency? The Sovereign Debt Forum is running this event on May 14, in conjunction with the IMF Legal Department. Details on registration for the virtual event are here:

@princetonsovfinlab.bsky.social

Thrilled to spend a couple days talking all things sovereign debt at our annual @princetonsovfinlab.bsky.social DC conference.

psfl.princeton.edu/events/2025/...

Here's our newest policy brief, on the links between foreign aid/development assistance and donor political influence.

psfl.princeton.edu/document/311

Here's our latest policy brief, from graduate fellow Christian Baehr, about how Trump's trade policies might open up space for progress on a Venezuelan restructuring.

psfl.princeton.edu/document/306

A reminder that the call for papers deadline for the 2025 DebtCon8 meeting, October 13-15 at Georgetown Law School, is March 31. More information here:

www.law.georgetown.edu/iiel/initiat...

(Policy panel proposals accepted through April 30)

@laynamosley.bsky.social

Nothing to see here, just chatter about selective default on US Treasuries.

We're thrilled to co-sponsor the return of #DebtCon to DC!

What is sovereign debt, and why does it matter? Sovereign debt crises have become more complicated, as countries tapped into new borrowing options in recent years.

At @goodauth.bsky.social, @laynamosley.bsky.social and @peterrosendorff.bsky.social's new Good to Know post gives some nuts and bolts of sovereign debt. A useful resource for teaching (and for convincing others that the politics of debt are important!)

goodauthority.org/news/good-to...

Fun fact about the 1944 Bretton Woods conference (officially, the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference): not enough space for everyone at the hotel, so some delegations had satellite housing -- including China, 22 miles away.

@princetonsovfinlab.bsky.social

Bond market ‘police’ are back as investors patrol spending plans Debt market flare-ups show growing pushback against governments’ loose fiscal policies

Not the "vigilantes," says the FT, but some bond investors who are worried about fiscal deficits in large, wealthy economies.

on.ft.com/4gIQ2hR

[An old story about investors' concern with overall deficit and debt levels: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

@princetonsovfinlab.bsky.social

This @economist.com piece summarizes a new working paper -- on sovereign bond market reactions to news of Chinese loans -- written by lab member Qi Liu and lab director @laynamosley.bsky.social.

www.economist.com/finance-and-...

With our new {wbids} package, analyzing international debt networks has never been easier. In a new blog post, I share the code to create interactive network visualizations using R to explore these relationships.

Le Shutdown: a budget rejection would hit France’s credibility with investors Markets hate uncertainty and the stakes in the current constitutional turmoil could not be higher

The investor base matters for market reactions to political uncertainty, and that base varies significantly across countries.

"Long-term, “real-money” investors in double A-rated government bonds .... want boring, predictable returns."

www.ft.com/content/9d49...

Quoting yours truly, on the domestic political complexities of borrowing from (and potentially defaulting on) resident investors and financial institutions.

www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Strong dollar set to hit emerging market bonds, warn investors EM debt funds suffer outflows as hopes of rate cuts by developing nations fade

"Higher US rates would make investing in riskier markets abroad relatively less attractive...." on.ft.com/3ASkExC

Ballard-Rosa, Mosley & Wellhausen 2021: the "democratic advantage" in sovereign borrowing only exists when rates are high in mature markets. [

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

If you don't know us already, we conduct policy-relevant research on the political economy of government borrowing. We consider the entire life cycle of sovereign credit, and we focus on the domestic and international politics related to sovereign borrowing.

psfl.princeton.edu

Bluesky is growing so quickly—it is hard to keep track of everyone joining! Are there any new sovereign debt nerds here I might have missed in this starter pack I have put together?

go.bsky.app/Cw8ufrd

🪟Do the Bretton Woods Institutions promote transparency?

➡️J. Hollyer X. Pang @peterrosendorff.bsky.social J. Vreeland show that loan disbursements from the IMF and the WB are positively associated with economic transparency, especially in democracies www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #FirstView

When discussing sovereign default in class leads to a Ferris Bueller reference...

Curious about what elections worldwide in 2024 might mean for sovereign debt markets? Check out our policy brief from PSFL Graduate Fellow Fiona Bare!

psfl.princeton.edu/document/121

"The proliferation of private lenders and variety of loan agreements have made debt negotiations impossibly complex...."

www.nytimes.com/2023/12/16/b...

Indeed. (They might've asked some political scientists about the biases in things like, say, the IMF).