Why Are Developing Nations So Slow to Play the Default Card in Renegotiating Their Sovereign Indebtedness?

Before 1982 sovereign debtors regularly defaulted on their debts. Since the debt crisis that commenced in that year, sovereign defaults have been rare and usually quite quickly remedied, even though crises have been occurring with increasing frequency. This article seeks to answer why there might have been this change, and whether it is in the debtors' interests.