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Public debt — a macroeconomic necessity

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Public debt — a macroeconomic necessity The problem stems from the fact that the affluent, which include successful entrepreneurs and capital owners, save relatively more than average or poor households … For this to work out, additional​ demand would have to be created … The implication of this is that there’s a macroeconomic requirement to run public deficits, founded on a demand gap that arises from households and firms wanting to set aside savings in the form​ of money … This demand gap cannot be closed but by an increase in government spending and hence debt. Private debt could close it only temporarily​ since it cannot rise forever. Household debt to GDP ratios have risen substantially in many countries over the last decades, but people will not

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Public debt — a macroeconomic necessity

The problem stems from the fact that the affluent, which include successful entrepreneurs and capital owners, save relatively more than average or poor households … For this to work out, additional​ demand would have to be created …

Public debt — a macroeconomic necessityThe implication of this is that there’s a macroeconomic requirement to run public deficits, founded on a demand gap that arises from households and firms wanting to set aside savings in the form​ of money … This demand gap cannot be closed but by an increase in government spending and hence debt.

Private debt could close it only temporarily​ since it cannot rise forever. Household debt to GDP ratios have risen substantially in many countries over the last decades, but people will not accept​​ mortgage payments in the range of 50-100 per cent of their​ disposable income …

A permanent public deficit is not a pathological symptom, but a macroeconomic necessity in order for private households to be in a position to save money.

Dirk Ehnts

Lars Pålsson Syll
Professor at Malmö University. Primary research interest - the philosophy, history and methodology of economics.

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