S. Ali Abbas, Deputy Chief, Debt Policy Division, Strategy, Policy and Review Department, International Monetary Fund,Alex Pienkowski, Economist, European Department, International Monetary Fund,Kenneth Rogoff, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics, Harvard University, USA

S. Ali Abbas is deputy chief of the Debt Policy division in the Strategy, Policy, and Review department of the International Monetary Fund. He has led key reforms to the Fund's lending and crisis resolution frameworks; served as Fund liaison to the Paris Club; and has been closely involved in several exceptional access Fund-supported programs, including Ireland 2010, Ukraine 2015, and Argentina 2018. He has published on fiscal policy, government financing, and sovereign debt crises, and helped compile widely-used databases on the level, dynamics, and composition of public debt.

Alex Pienkowski is an economist in the European department of the International Monetary Fund with a focus on sovereign debt, in particular the resolution architecture for debt crises, the costs and benefits of state-contingent debt and the propagation of shocks during crises. He has worked on a range of countries including Portugal, Argentina, Ukraine and Mongolia. Prior to the IMF, Alex worked for the Bank of England for five years. He specialized in international issues in both the financial stability and monetary analysis departments of the Bank. Much of his time involved working on the euro area sovereign debt crisis. Alex was also an Overseas Development Institute fellow in Malawi between 2007-09.

Kenneth Rogoff is Thomas D. Cabot Professor at Harvard University. From 2001-2003, Rogoff served as Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund. His widely-citedbook with Carmen Reinhart This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly shows the remarkable quantitative similarities across time and countries in the run-up and the aftermath of severe financial crises. Rogoff is also known for his seminal work on exchange rates and on central bank independence. He is also the author of Foundations of International Macroeconomics and The Curse of Cash, and his syndicated column on global economic issues is published in over 50 countries. Rogoff is among the top ten world ranked economists by scholarly citations.

Barry Eichengreen, Asmaa El-Ganainy, Rui Pedro Esteves and Kris James Mitchener
Serkan Arslanalp, Wolfgang Bergthaler, Philip Stokoe and Alexander F. Tieman
Antonio Fatas, Atish R. Ghosh, Ugo Panizza, Andrea F. Presbitero
Xavier Debrun, Jonathan D. Ostry, Tim Willems, and Charles Wyplosz
Thordur Jonasson, Michael G. Papaioannou, and Mike Williams
Tom Best, Oliver Bush, Luc Eyraud, and M. Belen Sbrancia
Julianne Ams , Reza Baqir , Anna Gelpern and Christoph Trebesch
Lee Buchheit, Guillaume Chabert, Chanda DeLong, and Jeromin Zettelmeyer
Hugh Bredenkamp, Ricardo Hausmann , Alex Pienkowski, and Carmen Reinhart

"Sovereign debt around the world has reached near-historic levels. Should we worry about it? Anyone interested in this question must have this book on their desk. The book is a brilliant, expansive guide on how to think about sovereign debt in historical and modern contexts." -- Atif Mian, John H. Laporte, Jr, Class of 1967 Professor of Economics, Princeton University.

"Most countries have experienced difficulties with the accumulation of high levels of public debt. In many cases, there has been default or restructuring. The maturity as well as the currency composition of public debt have important effects on the economy and its public finance. These are some of the issues discussed in this book, which is a very important contribution for academics and practitioners. The authors succeeded in discussing technically complex issues for a broad audience. Practitioners will learn a number of policy lessons on public debt management and fiscal policy. Academics will learn many stylized facts and policy challenges that should enlighten good research work." -- Jose De Gregorio, Dean School of Economics and Business, Universidad de Chile, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics.

"In todayâs world we witness rising debt levels in many countries, at times coupled with unsustainable lending practices, insufficient transparency and imperfect creditor coordination mechanisms against the backdrop of historically low interest rates. This poses a significant challenge for the international financial community in its effort to preserve global financial stability. This comprehensive and thought provoking book is a most valuable contribution to the much needed knowledge on these topics in these interesting times." -- Wopke Hoekstra, Minister of Finance of the Netherlands.

"It is rare to find a volume on sovereign debt that is so clearly written, comprehensive, and supremely usable for all those practicing (or interested) in the topic. This is that volume--unique in breadth and written by top scholars and practitioners in a way that is accessible to the non-expert. I recommend it highly." -- Odette Lienau, Professor of Law and Associate Dean, Cornell Law School and author of Rethinking Sovereign Debt: Politics, Reputation, and Legitimacy in Modern Finance.

"This is an outstanding book in many ways. Most remarkably, it manages to cover the budgetary, macroeconomic and financial market dimensions of public debt. The combination of historical analysis, discussion of key concepts and policy evaluation offers insights for practitioners and academics alike. Many thanks to all those who contributed to this volume." -- Olaf Scholz, Minister of Finance for Germany.