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CONTINUING COVERAGE OF : Ireland's $109-$123 billion BAILOUT:
More economists are now debating if it would be better for the EU's weakest economies to default to lenders - that bailouts only delay the inevitable.
“Holding bondholders harmless contributes to moral hazard and increases risks elsewhere,” said former U.S.Treasury chief Robert Rubin. “But imposing bond haircuts can make future market access expensive or impossible for an extended time and can create serious contagion effects elsewhere.”
Two countries where it worked - Argentina and Russia, in 2002 and 1998 - prospered after debt restructurings.
“There is just no escaping debt restructuring for Greece and Ireland,” said Harvard's Kenneth Rogoff.
