With gross government debt of 219% of GDP in 2016, Japan’s fiscal situation is in uncharted territory and puts the economy at risk. In addition to raising productivity and growth, Japan needs a more detailed and credible fiscal consolidation path, including specific revenue increases and...

There is no single “best” indicator for analysing general government debt. This paper examines the various issues in defining and measuring debt, and explores other data which could be useful, both within and beyond the general government debt concept, to better track and analyse fiscal...

This working paper explores avenues to improve public sector efficiency in Latvia, a catching-up and ageing economy where spending needs are large. Ensuring that spending allocated to core services (e.g. education, healthcare) is adequate to achieve convergence of policy outcomes to OECD upper...

This paper examines global credit intermediation through the lens of financial markets and financial intermediaries in the post-crisis period during which highly accommodative monetary policies contributed to investors’ search for yield. It reviews the extent to which non-bank intermediation...

High-yield corporate and leveraged loans have grown substantially over the past decade. However, the COVID-19 pandemic means downside risks are rising alongside expectations of severe negative impacts on corporate earnings and economic growth. The proportion of leveraged corporate debt exposed...

This paper investigates the effect of structural characteristics on debt limits of middle income countries. Two equations relate the probability of default to the interest rate. First, the probability of default is estimated with a logit model. Second, the assumption of non-arbitrage opportunity...