Publications

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Norway: An Embarrassment of Riches

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Forest Reinhardt and Jens-Henrik Munthe-Kaas

Keywords: Sovereign Wealth Funds; Welfare State; Internationalization; Dutch Disease; Macroeconomics; Energy Sources; Values and Beliefs; Sovereign Finance; Immigration; Welfare; Natural Resources; Happiness; Energy Industry; Norway

February 1989
Article

Buybacks, Exit Bonds, and the Optimality of Debt and Liquidity Relief

By: K. A. Froot

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

September 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Qatar: Energy for Development

By: Aldo Musacchio, Colin Donovan, Samir Mikati, Rami Sarafa and Abdulla AlMisnad

Despite being the richest country in the world on a per capita basis, for analysts Qatar belongs in the group of emerging markets considered "frontier markets." This case analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the development strategy of this small country as set... View Details

Keywords: Frontier Markets; State-owned Enterprises; State Capitalism; Sovereign Wealth Funds; Economic Development; Sovereign Finance; State Ownership; Development Economics; Energy Industry; Middle East; Qatar

1990
Book

Market-Based Debt Reduction for Developing Countries: Principles and Prospects

By: K. Froot, S. Claessens, I. Diwan and P. Krugman

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

September 2008 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Strategy

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

By 2008, a number of the firm's early cleantech investments were showing promise, and the companies were starting to need significantly more money to create the massive scale required in the energy sector. As Khosla thought about the hundreds of millions of dollars... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Entrepreneurial Finance; New Product Development; Partnerships; Entrepreneurial Management; Venture Capital; Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Investment Funds; Environmental Sustainability; Product Development; Biotechnology Industry; Financial Services Industry

25 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

To Pay or Not to Pay: Argentina and the International Debt Market

Editor's note. Argentina is in the midst of a continuing saga regarding its 2002 default on its sovereign debt, a case that the US Supreme Court will decide soon. HBS finance professor Laura Alfaro, who... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro

Article

Undisclosed Debt Sustainability

By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

Over the past decade, non-Paris Club creditors, notably China, have become an important source of financing for low- and middle-income countries. In contrast with typical sovereign debt, these lending arrangements are not public, and other creditors have no information... View Details

Keywords: Paris Club; Transparency; Sovereign Finance; Borrowing and Debt; International Finance

Awards

Pagano-Zechner Best Paper Award, Finalist

By: Victoria Ivashina

Finalist for the 2018 Pagano & Zechner Prize for Best Non-Investments Paper Published in the Review of Finance for "Financial Repression in the European Sovereign Debt Crisis" (February 2018) with Bo Becker. View Details

25 Apr 2014
News

To Pay Or Not To Pay: Argentina And The International Debt Market

Research Summary

Undisclosed Debt Sustainability

By: Laura Alfaro

Over the past decade, non-Paris Club creditors, notably China, have become an important source of financing for low- and middle-income countries. In contrast with typical sovereign debt, these lending arrangements are not public, and other creditors have no information... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Schreger studies international finance and macroeconomics, with an emphasis on sovereign debt. Following a series of sovereign debt crises in the 1980s and 1990s, which caused defaults among emerging markets governments on their foreign currency obligations,... View Details

February 2018
Case

Infrastructure in Nigeria: Unlocking Pension Fund Investments

By: John Macomber and Pippa Tubman Armerding

The so-called “infrastructure finance gap” was a problem in Nigeria as in many parts of the world. Infrastructure projects like power plants and dams were very large capital investments that could generate long-term consistent cash flows, but their financing and... View Details

Keywords: Pension Fund Investing; Infrastucture; Power/Energy; Credit Enhancement; Infrastructure; Project Finance; Investment Funds; Emerging Markets; Nigeria; Africa

October 2014
Article

Sovereigns, Upstream Capital Flows and Global Imbalances

By: Laura Alfaro, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Vadym Volosovych

We construct measures of net private and public capital flows for a large cross-section of developing countries considering both creditor and debtor side of the international debt transactions. Using these measures, we demonstrate that sovereign-to-sovereign... View Details

Keywords: Current Account; Aid/government Debt; Reserves; Puzzles; Productivity; Sovereign Finance; Developing Countries and Economies; Macroeconomics

Read Now

December 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

The Euro in Crisis: Decision Time at the European Central Bank

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull, Dante Roscini and Diane Choi

This case traces the origins and evolution of the European Central Bank, with attention to its 2010 decision concerning the purchase of Greek sovereign debt. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Currency; Central Banking; Financial Management; Sovereign Finance; Policy; Crisis Management; Europe; Greece

Luis M. Viceira is the George E. Bates Professor in the Finance Unit and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research, course development, and teaching focus on the areas of investment management... View Details

Keywords: banking; education industry; financial services; nonprofit industry; retail financial services

February 1992 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Telefonica de Argentina S.A.

Deals with the privatization of the Argentine telephone industry. Focuses on the restructuring aspect. Commercial banks owned sovereign debt of Argentina trading at a deep discount to par. The question is whether the banks should exchange their sovereign debt... View Details

Keywords: Financial Instruments; Restructuring; Privatization; Commercial Banking; Telecommunications Industry; Argentina

Research Summary

Sovereigns, Upstream Capital Flows and Global Imbalances

By: Laura Alfaro

We construct measures of net private and public capital flows for a large cross-section of developing countries considering both creditor and debtor side of the international debt transactions. Using these measures, we demonstrate that sovereign-to-sovereign... View Details

June 2012 (Revised August 2012)
Case

MF Global: Changing Stripes

By: Clayton Rose, Yasmin Dahya and Jenevieve Lee

Jon Corzine became the CEO of MF Global in March of 2010. Eighteen months later, and in the wake of a massive trade in European sovereign debt, the firm filed for bankruptcy, the 8th largest in U.S. history. As the firm failed it was discovered that over $1.6 billion... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Leadership; Governance; Bankruptcy; Financial Firms; Financial Crisis; Brokerage; Asset Management; Sovereign Finance; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Borrowing and Debt; Trade; Business Model

July 1983 (Revised July 1991)
Case

Hintz-Kessels-Kohl A.G.

By: Thomas R. Piper

A truck manufacturer must decide whether to bid on the sale of 120 trucks to a private firm in Costa Rica. If a bid is submitted, a decision must be made on whether to protect against the credit, exchange rate, and sovereign risks. View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Currency Exchange Rate; Truck Transportation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Germany; Costa Rica