Publications

September 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Rockwood Equity: Choosing the Right Debt Package

By: Victoria Ivashina, Terrence Shu and Alys Ferragamo

Educators

2025
Working Paper

Unwinding Loan Prospecting Pressure Through Renegotiation: The Role of Loan Officer Changes in Debt Contracting

By: Jung Koo Kang, Regina Wittenberg Moerman and Jessie Cheong

We examine the impact of loan officer changes on debt contract design. Loan officers play a critical role in initiating and maintaining lending relationships but also face pressure to originate more loans, incentivizing them to offer loan terms more favorable than... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Borrowing and Debt; Contracts; Negotiation; Motivation and Incentives

December 1989
Article

LDC Debt: Forgiveness, Indexation, and Investment Incentives

By: K. A. Froot, D. Scharfstein and J. Stein

Keywords: Debt Reduction; Chapter 7; Default; Debt Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt

September 1990
Article

How Risky is the Debt in Highly Leveraged Transactions?

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Borrowing and Debt

28 Jul 2020
News

2020’s States with the Highest & Lowest Credit-Card Debts

13 Jul 2011
News

House Democratic Tax Writer Says Debt Fight Poisons Reform

March 2003
Article

Creditor Rights, Enforcement, and Debt Ownership Structure: Evidence from the Global Syndicated Loan Market

By: Benjamin C. Esty and William L. Megginson

Keywords: Rights; Borrowing and Debt; Ownership; Markets; Global Range; Financing and Loans

(With Kristin Mugford) Set in 2013, School Specialty was a financially troubled supplier of educational products to primary and secondary schools in the United States. The company planned to file Chapter 11 in order to address its excessive debt load, but needed to... View Details

10 Dec 2013
News

Wall Street feeds the ravenous debt beast again

May 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Teaching Note

The Barber of Buenos Aires: Argentina's Debt Renegotiation (TN)

By: Noel Maurer and Aldo Musacchio

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Argentina

2010
Chapter

Property Rights for Foreign Capital: Sovereign Debt and Private Direct Investment in Times of Crisis

By: Louis T. Wells

Keywords: Property; Rights; International Finance; Capital; Sovereign Finance; Foreign Direct Investment; Financial Crisis

March 2005
Article

Sovereign Debt As a Contingent Claim: A Quantitative Approach

By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

We construct a dynamic equilibrium model with contingent service and adverse selection to quantitatively study sovereign debt. In the model, benefits of defaulting are tempered by higher future interest rates. For a wide set of parameters, the only equilibrium is one... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Interest Rates; Balance and Stability; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Mathematical Methods; Management Style; Segmentation; Debt Securities; Banking Industry

20 Jul 2021
News

America's Medical Debt Is Much Worse Than We Think

December 9, 2011
Comment

Solving the Debt Crisis May Be Europe's Biggest Step Forward

By: Dante Roscini

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Europe

October 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Masdar City: Aiming for Sustainable and Profitable Real Estate

By: Boris Vallee and Fares Khrais

Masdar City broke ground in 2008 and was conceived by the Abu Dhabi government to be an international beacon of innovation in sustainable energy and real estate. It was also to be a profitable investment for the government. At first glance, the two goals pulled in... View Details

Educators

Research Summary

Sovereign Debt as a Contingent Claim: A Quantitative Approach (joint with Fabio Kanczuk)

By: Laura Alfaro

We construct a dynamic equilibrium model with contingent service and adverse selection to quantitatively study sovereign debt. In the model, benefits of defaulting are tempered by higher future interest rates. For a wide parameter, the only equilibrium is one in which... View Details

06 Mar 2021
News

Poor countries struggling with debt fight to get help

July 19, 2011
Article

Social Security Refrom Is the Key to the Debt Ceiling Debate

By: Robert C. Pozen

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Borrowing and Debt

June 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Greece's Debt: Sustainable?

By: George Serafeim

The case "Greece's Debt: Sustainable?" describes the Greek economic crisis, bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the debt restructuring that followed. Because of a lack of trust in Greece's ability to repay its debt, two... View Details

Keywords: Debt Crisis; Accounting; Debt Sustainability; Austerity; Solvency Opinions; Borrowing and Debt; Restructuring; Valuation; Accrual Accounting; Fair Value Accounting; Economy; Greece

Educators