What We Owe: Truth, Myths, and Lies about Public Debt

Table of Contents......Page 7
Introduction......Page 10
Part I: The Public Debt Problem......Page 13
What is Public Debt?......Page 14
The Surge in Public Debt......Page 24
How High Public Debt Can Cause a Financial Crisis......Page 38
How High Public Debt Can Reduce Economic Growth......Page 54
Public Debt, Moral Imperatives, and Politics......Page 61
A Pause to Recap......Page 67
Part II: The Shortcuts......Page 71
Printing Money......Page 72
First Case Study: Should European Countries Leave the Euro Zone?......Page 79
Financial Repression......Page 87
Default......Page 93
Second Case Study: The Greek Crisis......Page 103
Debt Mutualization......Page 116
Privatization......Page 123
Part III: The Main Road......Page 129
Economic Growth......Page 130
A Bit of Austerity......Page 145
Institutional Fiscal Constraints......Page 158
Conclusion: The Unbearable Lightness of Public Debt......Page 166
Notes......Page 174
Index......Page 187
Back Flap......Page 193
Back Cover......Page 194