The Debt Death Trap
The Greek financial saga is the tip of an iceberg of problems of public-debt sustainability for many advanced economies. All successful financial rescues require the country’s credible willingness to impose fiscal austerity and structural reforms, as well as massive front-loaded official support to avoid a rollover crisis of maturing public and/or private short-term debts.
NEW YORK – The Greek financial saga is the tip of an iceberg of problems of public-debt sustainability for many advanced economies, and not only the so-called PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain). Indeed, the OECD now estimates that public debt-to-GDP ratios in advanced economies will rise to an average of around 100% of GDP. The International Monetary Fund has recently put out similar estimates.
NEW YORK – The Greek financial saga is the tip of an iceberg of problems of public-debt sustainability for many advanced economies, and not only the so-called PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain). Indeed, the OECD now estimates that public debt-to-GDP ratios in advanced economies will rise to an average of around 100% of GDP. The International Monetary Fund has recently put out similar estimates.