In the paper we provide some empirical evidence of the development of private debt to GDP ratio in the sample of 18 EU Member States. We use detailed national accounts published regularly by the OECD-financial assets and liabilities by institutional sectors (flow of funds). The ratio of private...

We analyse potential sources of internal imbalances, specifically as regards private and public indebtedness. The combination of a high public debt and increasing private sector indebtedness have been a source of concern in the perspective of the funding of the economy in examined countries. We...

In the paper we provide some empirical evidence of the development of private debt to GDP ratio in the sample of 18 EU Member States. We use detailed national accounts published regularly by the OECD-financial assets and liabilities by institutional sectors (flow of funds). The ratio of private...

At moderate levels, debt improves welfare and enhances growth. But high levels can be damaging. When does debt go from good to bad? We address this question using a new dataset that includes the level of government, non-financial corporate and household debt in 18 OECD countries from 1980 to...

This paper sheds new light on the growth implications of public debt introducing a dynamic panel threshold model by accounting for regime dependent intercepts and focusing on 12 Euro zone economies over the 1980-2012 period. The threshold estimates for debt are estimated by using multiple...

The fiscal deficit is "ill defined"; it is "without theoretical background"; it is "a number in search of a concept". Such judgements are characteristic of a prominent part of the literature on the new measurement concept of generational accounting. This paper argues that such criticism is...

The macroeconomic effects on growth, investment and private sector employment of different ways of rolling back the welfare state are analysed. Cutting public spending on private goods induces a lower interest rate, a higher wage, a lower capital stock and a fall in employment. Cutting public...

Inclusion of means testing into age pension programs allows governments to better direct benefits to those most in need and to control funding costs by providing flexibility to control the participation rate (extensive margin) and the benefit level (intensive margin). The former is aimed at...

The macroeconomic effects of different ways of rolling back the welfare state are analysed. Cutting public spending on market goods induces a lower interest rate, a higher wage, a lower capital stock, and a fall in employment. Cutting public employment or the labour income tax rate leads, in...

The macroeconomic effects on growth, investment and private sector employment of different ways of rolling back the welfare state are analysed. Cutting public spending on private goods induces a lower interest rate, a higher wage, a lower capital stock and a fall in employment. Cutting public...