IMF Working Papers

Public Debt Through the Ages

By Barry J. Eichengreen, Asmaa A ElGanainy, Rui Pedro Esteves, Kris James Mitchener

January 15, 2019

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Barry J. Eichengreen, Asmaa A ElGanainy, Rui Pedro Esteves, and Kris James Mitchener. Public Debt Through the Ages, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2019) accessed December 3, 2024

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

We consider public debt from a long-term historical perspective, showing how the purposes for which governments borrow have evolved over time. Periods when debt-to-GDP ratios rose explosively as a result of wars, depressions and financial crises also have a long history. Many of these episodes resulted in debt-management problems resolved through debasements and restructurings. Less widely appreciated are successful debt consolidation episodes, instances in which governments inheriting heavy debts ran primary surpluses for long periods in order to reduce those burdens to sustainable levels. We analyze the economic and political circumstances that made these successful debt consolidation episodes possible.

Subject: Asset and liability management, Banking, Debt reduction, Domestic debt, External debt, Financial crises, Public debt

Keywords: Debt, Debt History, Debt ratio, Debt reduction, Domestic debt, Europe, Global, Gold standard, Government, Great Depression debt surge, Long-term debt, Modernization agenda, Public goods, Short-term debt, Sovereign Debt Composition, Soveriegn Debt, Soveriegn Debt Crises, Union government financing, WP

Publication Details

  • Pages:

    60

  • Volume:

    ---

  • DOI:

    ---

  • Issue:

    ---

  • Series:

    Working Paper No. 2019/006

  • Stock No:

    WPIEA2019006

  • ISBN:

    9781484392898

  • ISSN:

    1018-5941

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