1. Introduction -- 2. Notes on a Definition of the Concept of Public Debt -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Analogies between borrowing and unfunded obligations -- 2.3 Differences between borrowing and unfunded obligations -- 2.4 The U.K. pension system case -- 2.5 Economic and policy implications -- Notes -- 3. The Public Debt Perception Issue -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Public debt illusion: a brief overview -- 3.3 Funded debt perception -- 3.4 Unfunded debt perception -- 3.5 Concluding remarks -- Notes -- 4. The Fulfilment of Unfunded Obligations and the Problem of Population Growth: An Application of Baumol’s Law -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 The model -- 4.3 Concluding remarks -- Notes -- 5. Public Choice Implications of Unfunded Debt -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 The median voter theorem and unfunded obligations -- 5.3 Unfunded obligations fulfilment within a median voter framework: a simple model -- 5.4 The effects of the population growth on the level of unfunded obligations fulfillment -- 5.5 The choice of the median voter’s optimum contribution rate -- 5.6 Concluding remarks -- Notes -- 6. The Interest Group Theory and Unfunded Obligations -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Interest groups and the political process -- 6.3 Interest groups and unfunded obligations -- 6.4 Concluding remarks -- Notes -- 7. An Attempt at Empirical Investigation -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Some preliminary methodological questions -- 7.3 The pension equation: cross-section analysis -- 7.4 The pension equation: time-series analysis -- 7.5 OLS results -- 7.6 Concluding remarks -- Notes -- 8. Conclusions.
