Famed international economist Carlo Cottarelli explains public debt - the IOUs governments issue to keep the machinery of government running. Where does public debt originate? Why is it so difficult to reduce? Why is it so important for a nation's economy? Can nations live with debt, and how? Is it possible to eliminate public debt?
Carlo Cottarelli is the Executive Director for Italy at the International Monetary Fund. He was Commissioner of public spending reform in Italy and director of the International Monetary Fund's Fiscal Affairs Department. At the IMF, he worked on surveillance and technical assistance in a variety of countries, including Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Lebanon, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Italy, and the United Kingdom. He has authored several papers on fiscal and monetary policies and institutions, and edited books on inflation, monetary policy, and exchange rates.
Famed international economist Carlo Cottarelli explains public debt - the IOUs governments issue to keep the machinery of government running. Where does public debt originate? Why is it so difficult to reduce? Why is it so important for a nation's economy? Can nations live with debt, and how? Is it possible to eliminate public debt?
Carlo Cottarelli is the Executive Director for Italy at the International Monetary Fund. He was Commissioner of public spending reform in Italy and director of the International Monetary Fund's Fiscal Affairs Department. At the IMF, he worked on surveillance and technical assistance in a variety of countries, including Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Lebanon, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Italy, and the United Kingdom. He has authored several papers on fiscal and monetary policies and institutions, and edited books on inflation, monetary policy, and exchange rates.
"Contents:
Introduction
Part I: The Public Debt Problem
1. What Is Public Debt?
2. The Surge in Public Debt
3. How High Public Debt Can Cause a Financial Crisis
4. How High Public Debt Can Reduce Economic Growth
5. Public Debt, Moral Imperatives, and Politics
6. A Pause to Recap
Part II: The Shortcuts
7. Printing Money
8. First Case Study: Should European Countries Leave the Euro
Zone?
9. Financial Repression
10. Default
11. Second Case Study: The Greek Crisis
12. Debt Mutualization
13. Privatization
Part III: The Main Road
14. Economic Growth
15. A Bit of Austerity
16. Institutional Fiscal Constraints
Conclusion: The Unbearable Lightness of Public Debt
Notes
Index"
Carlo Cottarelli is the Executive Director for Italy at the International Monetary Fund. He was Commissioner of public spending reform in Italy and director of the International Monetary Fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department. At the IMF, he worked on surveillance and technical assistance in a variety of countries, including Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Lebanon, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Italy, and the United Kingdom. He has authored several papers on fiscal and monetary policies and institutions, and edited books on inflation, monetary policy, and exchange rates.
“Cottarelli, who once headed the Fiscal Affairs Department of the
International Monetary Fund, has put together a primer on public
debt. He sets out to debunk a number of common misconceptions about
government borrowing, especially the idea that unless a government
pays off its debts, it is fiscally unsound or is somehow cheating
future generations. He draws on extensive scholarly research about
debt, much of it carried out by IMF staff, and presents his
findings in comprehensible, nontechnical language. [...] This is
essential reading for all those concerned about current high levels
of public debt—and for those who are not concerned but should
be.”—Foreign Affairs
“A timely and important book.”—Washington Independent Review of
Books
“Misconceptions abound about the difference between public debt and
deficits, what counts towards public debt, when public debt becomes
a problem, and how public debt can be reduced. What We Owe deftly
clears the air on these topics in what amounts to a short primer on
one of the most elusive issues for the interested layperson.”—Civil
Service World
“Public debt is very high. Is this an issue? Should it be reduced?
If so, how? Through debt restructuring, inflation, or more slowly,
through steady surpluses? Carlo Cottarelli, building on his long
experience at the IMF, offers a clear, frank, and refreshing
discussion of one of the most important macroeconomic issues of the
day. A must-read.”—Olivier Blanchard, emeritus Robert M. Solow
Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and
former economic counselor, International Monetary Fund
“When governments spend now but tax only later, they issue debt.
This book, by a distinguished economist and public servant, clearly
sets forth the problems that current government officials pass on
to those in the future when they add to government debt, and the
alternatives available for coping with those problems, all of them
unpleasant. The book is remarkable for the clear and logical way it
delineates the constraints and choices that big government debts
impose on future governments and citizens. The book is nonpartisan
in describing in clear terms the available alternatives and their
consequences.”—Thomas Sargent, Nobel Prize winner in economics,
2011
“A book for all of us as parents, as well as for our children, to
better understand what will affect the future and how the future
will be affected by our decisions today. An essential read not only
to understand but also to decide in a fair and farsighted way, thus
avoiding the mistakes of the past.”—Enrico Letta, former Prime
Minister of Italy
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