The normative evolution of sovereign debt in the second half of the twentieth century

Abstract

The regulatory approaches to sovereign debt have been typified by the absence of universally agreed principles or common fora for its negotiation and restructuring. After World War II, the prevailing procedures favored creditors to the detriment of debtors; and suffered from improvised solutions, combining political pressure with financial support instruments from the Paris Club, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. During this period, the sovereign debt management scheme showed fragmentation and inequity, with serious consequences, mainly for developing countries. This research intends to study the evolution of the normative approaches to sovereign debt during the second half of the twentieth century.