This paper analyzes the effects on present consumption of budget deficits under different assumptions regarding demographics. In the first part, birth and death rates are deterministic; and in the second part, birth rates are assumed to be stochastic. In the case of a deterministic population...

The increased access of African countries to international capital markets has put public debt sustainability once again high on the continent´s policy agenda. Utilizing the "stabilizing primary balance" approach, we find that the primary balances exceeded those required to keep public debt at...

The increased access of African countries to international capital markets has put public debt sustainability once again high on the continentś policy agenda. Utilizing the "stabilizing primary balance" approach, we find that the primary balances exceeded those required to keep public debt at...

It is often argued that social and economic investments that benefit children and poor households are not affordable or that government expenditure cuts are inevitable during adjustment periods. But there are alternatives, even in the poorest countries. This working paper offers an array of...