Friday, 5 April 2019

Public debt through the ages

a column by Barry Eichengreen, Asmaa El-Ganainy, Rui Esteves and Kris Mitchener for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal

The history of sovereign debt evolved over time along with the purposes for which governments borrowed: first state building, then public-good provision, and most recently social welfare and entitlements. Although many periods when debt-to-GDP ratios rose explosively culminated in funding crises, debasements and restructurings, less widely appreciated are episodes of successful debt consolidation achieved through rapid growth or budgetary discipline.

This column analyses the economic and political circumstances that made these debt consolidation episodes possible.

Continue reading

Hazel’s comment:
Not quite as interesting historically as I thought it might be but covers the last hundred plus years quite thoroughly.


No comments: