This paper elaborates on the relationship between sustainability of public debt and the debt to GDP ratio in case the interest rate on public debt exceeds the growth rate of GDP. When the primary surplus relative to GDP positively reacts to a higher debt to GDP ratio, a bounded debt to GDP ratio...

In this note we theoretically investigate the question of whether the relationship between public debt and economic growth is characterized by an inverse U-shaped functional form. Starting point of our analysis is the paper by Checherita-Westphal et al. (2012) who present an endogenous growth...

In a recent paper Minea and Villieu (2009) assert that the 'golden rule of public finance' implies a lower long-run growth rate than the balanced-budget rule. Their contribution is misleading because it is not the 'golden rule of public finance' that generates their result but rather the fact...

We consider a general class of endogenous growth models with infinitely lived households and analyze how different budgetary rules affect the stability of the economy. We show that a discretionary fiscal policy implies that the government always violates its inter-temporal budget constraint...

We work out the mechanism that makes public debt affect the allocation of resources in the long-run. To do so we analyze an AK growth model with elastic labor supply and a government sector. The government levies a distortionary income tax and issues bonds to finance lump-sum transfers and...

This paper analyzes the public debt situation in Japan, Germany and the United States by reflecting their respective debt history and by analyzing whether the governments pursue a sustainable debt policy. Starting point of the analysis are theoretical considerations about conditions guaranteeing...

In this paper we test whether German public debt has been sustainable by resorting to a test proposed by Bohn (1998). We apply non-parametric and semi-parametric regressions with time depending coefficients. This test shows that the mean of the coefficient relevant for sustainability has been...

This paper presents an endogenous growth model with public capital and public debt. The primary-surplus-to-GDP ratio is set such that it is a positive function of the debt ratio, which is a necessary condition for the intertemporal budget constraint of the government. The paper studies growth...

This paper presents and analyzes an endogenous growth model with public capital and progressive taxation. Two versions are considered: The first version assumes that the budget of the government is balanced at each point of time. The second allows for public debt but asserts that the ratio of...