Repudiation and Repression: The Human Costs of Sovereign Default
Sovereign default has myriad economic and political consequences. Existing research, however, has not explored the human costs of sovereign default, though some link the fiscal flexibility afforded by sovereign creditworthiness to improved human rights performance. But what are the consequences when...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/121 |
| _version_ | 1797608978646040576 |
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| author | Stephen Bagwell |
| author_facet | Stephen Bagwell |
| author_sort | Stephen Bagwell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sovereign default has myriad economic and political consequences. Existing research, however, has not explored the human costs of sovereign default, though some link the fiscal flexibility afforded by sovereign creditworthiness to improved human rights performance. But what are the consequences when sovereigns lose all creditworthiness and default on their debt obligations? I argue that while the average effect of default is negative for respect for physical integrity rights, a conditional effect exists. When states devote more of their resources to debt service and default, they are likely to see a short term increase in respect for physical integrity rights. I find robust support for these arguments using panel data on over 90 developing countries from 1981–2010. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:54:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4d72d6749d4c425586139fbd6a5d4fe3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:54:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-4d72d6749d4c425586139fbd6a5d4fe32023-11-17T13:51:39ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602023-02-0112312110.3390/socsci12030121Repudiation and Repression: The Human Costs of Sovereign DefaultStephen Bagwell0Department of Political Science, University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO 63121-4400, USASovereign default has myriad economic and political consequences. Existing research, however, has not explored the human costs of sovereign default, though some link the fiscal flexibility afforded by sovereign creditworthiness to improved human rights performance. But what are the consequences when sovereigns lose all creditworthiness and default on their debt obligations? I argue that while the average effect of default is negative for respect for physical integrity rights, a conditional effect exists. When states devote more of their resources to debt service and default, they are likely to see a short term increase in respect for physical integrity rights. I find robust support for these arguments using panel data on over 90 developing countries from 1981–2010.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/121debt servicesovereign debthuman rightsrisk managementphysical integrity rights |
| spellingShingle | Stephen Bagwell Repudiation and Repression: The Human Costs of Sovereign Default Social Sciences debt service sovereign debt human rights risk management physical integrity rights |
| title | Repudiation and Repression: The Human Costs of Sovereign Default |
| title_full | Repudiation and Repression: The Human Costs of Sovereign Default |
| title_fullStr | Repudiation and Repression: The Human Costs of Sovereign Default |
| title_full_unstemmed | Repudiation and Repression: The Human Costs of Sovereign Default |
| title_short | Repudiation and Repression: The Human Costs of Sovereign Default |
| title_sort | repudiation and repression the human costs of sovereign default |
| topic | debt service sovereign debt human rights risk management physical integrity rights |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/121 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephenbagwell repudiationandrepressionthehumancostsofsovereigndefault |