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Borrowing Costs After Debt Relief

Can debt moratoria help countries weather negative shocks? We study the bond market effects of an NPV-neutral debt service suspension endorsed by the international community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Using daily data on sovereign bond spreads and synthetic control methods, we show that countries eligible for official debt relief experience a larger decline in borrowing costs compared to similar, ineligible countries. This decline is stronger for countries that receive a larger relief, suggesting that the effect works through liquidity provision. By contrast, our results do not support the concern that debt relief could generate stigma.