The determinants of secondary market prices for developing country loans: the impact of country risk

With better-defined variables based on Euromoney country risk data as explanatory variables, the determinants of the prices of the debts of less-developed countries (LDCs) in the secondary market are estimated. With the use of cross-sectional data on 27 countries for the years 1992, 1993, and 1994, the regression results indicate that sovereign credit ratings constitute the most important variable influencing prices; other significant variables include the level of external indebtedness and the amount of debt in default. Separate results have been obtained for each of the two categories of countries grouped according to the level of economic development. These results are more meaningful than those of previous studies because the model includes, in addition to debt-servicing capacity, other variables that best explain the prices of LDCs' debt within the context of a risky debt instrument.