scholarly journals The Political Economy of Public Debt: A Laboratory Study

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Battaglini ◽  
Salvatore Nunnari ◽  
Thomas Palfrey
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Laboratory Study ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
The Political

The political economy of public debt

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Brennan
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
The Political

‘The folly of particulars’: the political economy of the South Sea Bubble

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Kleer
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
Banking Industry ◽  
Market Price ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
The Public ◽  
Conversion Operation ◽  
South Sea

In 1720 Britain embarked on a project to convert a large part of the public debt into shares in the South Sea Company. Most narratives assume the Company stood to profit from an anticipated increase in the market price of its shares. Though some have noted that this assumption is incorrect, no one has yet tried to find an alternative explanation for the Company's motivation for entering into the project. In this article I argue that the Company had no need to profit directly from the conversion operation and instead saw it as an opportunity to establish dominance in the British banking industry.

On the Political Economy of Public Deficits and Debt

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gebhard Kirchgässner
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
Considerable Increase ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Public Budget ◽  
Public Finances ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Public Deficits

AbstractIn OECD countries, we have observed a considerable increase in public debt over recent decades caused by large and lasting deficits. What is the reason for this development and why is it rather different by country? There are two approaches to explain this. Traditional economic theory explains why it makes sense to allow deficits of public budgets in certain situations, which might result in a limited amount of public debt. It also shows the conditions for the sustainability of public finances namely that public debt stays below certain limits and, in particular, does not - in the long run - increase faster than GDP. Following the recommendations of this approach, public budget surpluses should be run in economic upswings to compensate for deficits in recessions. By contrast, politico-economic approaches explain why democratic governments have incentives to allow deficits even in periods of economic upswings. In the long run, this can lead to ever-increasing public debt. To prevent this, institutional provisions are necessary. In this respect, Swiss debt brakes at the national and cantonal levels as well as the new German rules are of particular interest.

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