In this paper we examine the process of public debt default, including its causes, events leading up to it, policy responses and their varying degrees of success, as well as factors that determine future access to debt markets by defaulted public entities. Finally, we review innovative approaches to preventing, or, at least, alleviating the effects of, public debt crises, some of which have already been used by public borrowing entities, including default and restructuring cases, while some have only been proposed. In our study, we analyze well-known default and restructuring episodes, and review the relevant research from the vast body of literature in the area.