Debt has been on an uphill trend for years and the Covid pandemic has only accelerated such a trend. While there is widespread consensus that this was necessary, concern is rising in several economies about the ability of governments to repay the debt, as well as who will foot the bill. Anton Brender and co-authors have taken a close look at the role of debt in the economy and have come up with a thought-provoking conclusion. What appears to be fiscal profligacy to some, can also be seen as a reaction to an ever-increasing demand for government debt: the ants need the grasshoppers. What does it mean for the current debate about sovereign debt in advanced economies, and especially in the EU?
Link to the book: https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/the-macroeconomics-of-debt/
