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This paper examines a puzzle in the political economy of infrastructure in India - the co-existence of relatively low shares of capital spending in public budgets alongside evidence of large demand for village infrastructure from poor voters. It argues that this pattern is due to infrastructure projects being used at the margin for political rent-seeking, while spending on employment and welfare transfers are the preferred vehicles to win votes for re-election. New suggestive evidence on the variation of public spending composition across states, and within states over time is offered that is consistent with this argument. This evidence underscores a growing argument in the development literature that the level and composition of public spending per se may not be sufficient metrics to assess the quality of public goods policies - greater infrastructure spending in some contexts may go to political rents rather than to the actual delivery of broad public goods for growth and poverty reduction.

Accounting --- Capital Projects --- Debt --- Debt Markets --- Debt servicing --- Electricity --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Fiscal policies --- Governance --- Government spending --- Housing --- National Governance --- Parliamentary Government --- Public --- Public expenditure --- Public goods --- Public infrastructure --- Public investment --- Public resources --- Public sector --- Public Sector Development --- Public Sector Economics --- Public Sector Management and Reform --- Public spending --- Roads --- Savings --- Taxation --- User charges

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This paper analyzes results of a survey on debt management strategies conducted by the Banking and Debt Management Department of the World Bank. The analysis focuses on (1) whether a public debt management strategy exists in a given country, (2) whether it is made public, and (3) in which form it is imparted. The paper analyzes the distribution of the latter characteristics over different regions, income groups, and levels of indebtedness using graphical analysis. Using regression analysis, it investigates the extent to which basic economic factors can explain the characteristics of public debt management strategies across countries.

Debt Management Department --- Debt Management Strategies --- Debt management strategy --- Debt managers --- Debt Markets --- Debt obligations --- Debt portfolio --- Debt servicing --- Economic Theory and Research --- External Debt --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Government debt --- International Economics & Trade --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Public Debt --- Public Debt Management --- Public Sector Economics and Finance --- Strategic Debt Management

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How creditors came to wield unprecedented power over heavily indebted countries-and the dangers this poses to democracyThe European debt crisis has rekindled long-standing debates about the power of finance and the fraught relationship between capitalism and democracy in a globalized world. Why Not Default? unravels a striking puzzle at the heart of these debates-why, despite frequent crises and the immense costs of repayment, do so many heavily indebted countries continue to service their international debts?In this compelling and incisive book, Jerome Roos provides a sweeping investigation of the political economy of sovereign debt and international crisis management. He takes readers from the rise of public borrowing in the Italian city-states to the gunboat diplomacy of the imperialist era and the wave of sovereign defaults during the Great Depression. He vividly describes the debt crises of developing countries in the 1980s and 1990s and sheds new light on the recent turmoil inside the Eurozone-including the dramatic capitulation of Greece's short-lived anti-austerity government to its European creditors in 2015.Drawing on in-depth case studies of contemporary debt crises in Mexico, Argentina, and Greece, Why Not Default? paints a disconcerting picture of the ascendancy of global finance. This important book shows how the profound transformation of the capitalist world economy over the past four decades has endowed private and official creditors with unprecedented structural power over heavily indebted borrowers, enabling them to impose painful austerity measures and enforce uninterrupted debt service during times of crisis-with devastating social consequences and far-reaching implications for democracy.

Debts, Public --- History. --- Amsterdam capital market. --- Argentina. --- Bank of Greece. --- Brady debt restructuring. --- Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. --- European debt crisis. --- Great Depression. --- Greece. --- Greek debt crisis. --- IMF. --- International Monetary Fund. --- King Philip II. --- Latin America. --- Mexico. --- Syriza party. --- bailout. --- bankers' alliance. --- bonds. --- capitalism. --- capitalist economy. --- conditional lending. --- contract enforcement. --- credit class. --- credit repayment. --- credit-money. --- credit. --- creditors. --- cross-border contract. --- debt crisis. --- debt moratorium. --- debt repayment. --- debt restructuring. --- debt service. --- debt servicing. --- debtor compliance. --- debtor discipline. --- default. --- democracy. --- democratic institutions. --- emergency lending. --- enforcement mechanism. --- external debt. --- finance. --- financial crisis. --- fiscal distress. --- foreign credit. --- foreign debt servicing. --- foreign investment. --- global finance. --- globalization. --- intermediary. --- international creditors. --- international crisis management. --- international debts. --- international lending. --- internationalization. --- lending cycles. --- long-term reputation. --- market discipline. --- power. --- public debt. --- repayment. --- short-term credit. --- social costs. --- solvency. --- sovereign debt crises. --- sovereign debt repayment. --- sovereign debt. --- sovereign default. --- spillover costs. --- structural power. --- syndicated lending. --- trade sanctions.

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July 2000 - Many transport projects undertaken during the boom period of the 1990s came to a crashing halt in 1997, and conditions in emerging markets worsened in 1998 and 1999. Many projects failed, victim of everything from overoptimistic forecasts to excessive debt to an inability to refinance bridge loans. As available financing dried up, many projects went bankrupt, had to be renegotiated, or were taken over by the government. What have we learned from all this? Recent developments in emerging financial markets have dramatically changed the appetite for (and terms of) transport infrastructure projects. As a result of defaults in Asia and Russia and devaluations in Asia, Brazil, and Russia, political and currency and exchange risk premia have increased dramatically. Given large needs for sovereign debt financing, infrastructure project finance will be seeking guarantees at the same time as governments are issuing primary securities. Large portfolio outflows in emerging market funds mean that the sources of both equity and debt capital that became available in the mid-1990s are drying up for all but the most creditworthy projects. Moreover, real economic effects from financial events have consequences in the transport sector, since transport is a derived demand. Any decline in real economic activity is felt quickly in traffic levels and revenues. Currency devaluations that help spur exports may generate higher volumes for seaports and air cargo activity. These effects vary by sector, especially over the medium to longer term. Declines in real economic activity make matters especially difficult for toll roads, as drivers shift to free alternatives and reduce the number of trips taken. What does all this mean for project finance in transport? Risks have increased. Debt finance costs more. The available tenor of debt instruments has shortened and more equity is required for projects. The sources and availability of equity finance have changed. Project finance efforts have shifted from new projects to the privatization, rehabilitation, and expansion of existing facilities. And a superclass of sponsors, bankers, and investors has emerged. Failures and mistakes in project finance deals in the 1990s were sharp and persistent. But much has been learned about sound project economics, conservative financial structures, comprehensive sensitivity analysis, the effects of macroeconomic factors, and the need for proper incentives and sound institutional and regulatory arrangements. This paper-a product of Governance, Regulation, and Finance, World Bank Institute-is part of a larger effort in the institute to increase understanding of infrastructure regulation. The authors may be contacted at aestache@worldbank.org or jstrong@worldbank.org.

Bank Debt --- Banks and Banking Reform --- Bond --- Capital Structures --- Debt Markets --- Debt Servicing --- Emerging Bond Markets --- Emerging Markets --- Environment --- Environmental Economics and Policies --- Finance --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Crises --- Financial Intermediation --- Financial Literacy --- Financial Performance --- Good --- Infrastructure Finance --- Interest --- Interest Rate --- Interest Rate Risk --- Investing --- Market --- Pension --- Pension Assets --- Private Sector Development --- Public Sector Economics and Finance --- Revenues --- Short-Term Debt --- Transport --- Transport Economics, Policy and Planning

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This study discusses the role of domestic debt markets in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) based on a new dataset covering 27 SSA countries during the 20-year period 1980-2000. The study finds that domestic debt markets in these countries are generally small, highly short-term in nature, and often have a narrow investor base. Domestic interest payments present a significant burden to the budget, despite much smaller domestic than foreign indebtedness. The use of domestic debt is also found to have significantly crowded out private sector lending. Finally, the study identifies significant differences between the size, cost, and maturity structure of domestic debt markets in HIPCs and non-HIPCs.

Debts, Public --- Debt service --- Government securities --- Government agency securities --- Government bonds --- Public securities --- Treasuries (Securities) --- Treasury bonds --- Bonds --- Securities --- Debt servicing --- Service, Debt --- Servicing debt --- Debt --- Debts, Government --- Government debts --- National debts --- Public debt --- Public debts --- Sovereign debt --- Deficit financing --- Law and legislation --- Exports and Imports --- Finance: General --- Public Finance --- Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects --- Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy --- Debt Management --- Sovereign Debt --- General Financial Markets: General (includes Measurement and Data) --- International Lending and Debt Problems --- Public finance & taxation --- Finance --- International economics --- Domestic debt --- Securities markets --- Government debt management --- Interest payments --- Financial markets --- Public financial management (PFM) --- External debt --- Capital market --- South Africa