Many researchers have been focused for decades on the issue of public debt considering its effect on fiscal sustainability in the long run. There is a recent body of research showing that the current financial crises will lead to a considerable increase of public debt in a number of advanced...

Tanzi and Schuknecht (1997) pointed out that one of the key features of welfare state is to run large fiscal deficits and public debt. This can be explained considering the rise of the social transfers that led to an overall increase of the total government spending. Growing public debt can...