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Lending to the Borrower from Hell: Debt and Default in the Age of Philip II, 1556-1598

Mauricio Drelichman, Hans-Joachim Voth

Economic Journal 121, pp. 1205-1227 (2011)

Published version

Abstract

What sustained borrowing without third-party enforcement in the early days of sovereign lending? Philip II of Spain accumulated towering debts while stopping all payments to his lenders four times. How could the sovereign borrow much and default often?

Keywords
sovereign debt, default, Philip II, Habsburg Spain, financial history
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-0297.2011.02442.x
Canonical
https://www.jvoth.com/papers/lending-to-the-borrower-from-hell.html

Mauricio Drelichman, Hans-Joachim Voth (2011). “Lending to the Borrower from Hell: Debt and Default in the Age of Philip II, 1556-1598.” Economic Journal.