In Lebanon, persisting high levels of public debt forced the Government to direct much of its expenditure towards debt service.

A public debt crisis in Japan (as the combination of recession, deflation, and high deficits drove up the debt GDP ratio).

External public debt

One possible solution would be to permit member states to issue debt as eurobonds up to, say, 60 of GDP, and to require them to be individually responsible for any debt exceeding that level. This would give countries with high levels of public debt an incentive to consolidate their public finances.

Servicing of external public debt

a Excludes official public debt.

The short answer is no. While Greece s public debt is undeniably high, and evidence abounds that high debt can hold back economic growth, the country faces even stronger drags on growth, including structural weaknesses and political brinkmanship, that must be addressed first.

In countries that borrow in their own currency and can monetize the public debt, a sovereign debt crisis is unlikely, but monetization of fiscal deficits can eventually lead to high inflation. And inflation is like default a capital levy on holders of public debt, as it reduces the real value of nominal liabilities at fixed interest rates.

Unemployment remains far too high, with alarming levels of long term and youth joblessness. Public debt remains too high as well, and, making matters worse, much more of it is now owed to official rather than private creditors (which would complicate debt restructuring should it become necessary).

Unemployment remains far too high, with alarming levels of long term and youth joblessness. Public debt remains too high as well, and, making matters worse, much more of it is now owed to official rather than private creditors (which would complicate debt restructuring should it become necessary).

C. Public debt in the ESCWA region

Public debt in the more diversified economies

As a result of greatly expanded GDP in 2004, the public debt to GDP ratio declined slightly, to 180 per cent, but is still very high.

Public debt in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

Cleaning up high private sector debt and lowering public debt ratios by growth alone is particularly hard if a balance sheet crisis leads to an anemic recovery. And reducing debt ratios by saving more leads to the paradox of thrift too fast an increase in savings deepens the recession and makes debt ratios even worse.

She will govern a country with substantial public debt (60 of GDP), a volatile currency, and high inflation. Nervous financial markets will keep the government on a tight leash.

History offers two clear lessons reducing public debt is incredibly difficult without growth, and increasing growth is incredibly difficult with a huge burden of public debt. So we face a twofold imperative securing growth while reducing debt.

b Total public debt denominated in pesos and foreign currency.

Third, while ECB policies keep borrowing costs lower, private and public debt in the periphery countries, as a share of GDP, is high and still rising, because the denominator of the debt ratio nominal GDP is barely increasing. Thus, debt sustainability will remain an issue for these economies over the medium term.

Indeed, history suggests that severe recession and socialization of private losses often lead to an unsustainable build up of public debt. Moreover, financial crises triggered by excessive debt and leverage in the private sector are followed after a few years by sovereign defaults and or high inflation to wipe out the real value of public debts.

For starters, Syriza and others argue that Greece's public debt, at a massive 170 of GDP, is unsustainable and must be cut. Given that the country's official debt constitutes the bulk of its overall public debt, the government wants it reduced.

There are also middle income, high debt developing countries that need a reprieve from the debt burden they face.

To enhance the credibility of public finances, Monti s government substantially increased taxes, particularly on real estate, while preserving the already record high income tax rate. The tax plan highlighted that Italy, like Japan, is a country of public debt and private wealth.

Most economists failed to foresee the economic dynamics that actually led to the crisis, because they failed to pay enough attention to the rapid increase in US total debt. Instead, they focused exclusively on US foreign debt, ignoring household debt (mortgage and consumer debt), public debt, business debt, and financial debt.

Although the government s stimulus policies have increased the national debt, the debt GDP ratio remains relatively low, at roughly 37 . Public debt in Japan, by contrast, exceeds 220 of GDP.

The most likely explanation for this public investment shortfall is fiscal constraints. And, indeed, debt and unfunded non debt liabilities increasingly weigh down public sector balance sheets and pension funds, eroding the foundations of resilient, sustainable growth.

WASHINGTON, DC Everyone is talking about debt, citing huge nominal figures that strongly affect public policy debates worldwide. But all debt is not created equal.

First, they will not be weighed down by high levels of public debt. Second, they will not be overly reliant on the world economy, and their engine of economic growth will be internal rather than external.

It is estimated that the debt export ratio in net present value terms is high (187 per cent), suggesting that Haiti's debt is unsustainable.

However, while the HIPC initiative has removed the debt overhang for many countries, the burden of debt service payments remains high (see table 1).

To do the same thing with bank debt could pull hitherto sound economies into the abyss, because bank s balance sheets are much larger than the volume of government debt. In Spain, the public debt to GDP ratio is 69 , but the debt of the Spanish banking system totals 305 of GDP, or about 3.3 trillion about as much as the combined public debt of all five crisis stricken eurozone countries.

In 2004, a substantial part of the budget surplus was used to repay public debt.

For fiscal policy, the crisis showed the value of maintaining low public debt and deficits during good times countries with healthier public finances have more space to cushion the economic impact of crises. But the Great Recession has caused public debt and deficits in many advanced economies to soar.

Assuaging doubt about the sustainability of public debt in the eurozone would thus probably require a deep restructuring as well. The eurozone crisis could certainly be resolved if all existing public debt were transformed into 20 year Eurobonds with a yield of 3 , and a five year grace period on debt service.

The monetary easing undertaken by the US Federal Reserve raised expectations for a devaluation of the US dollar that might help US exports. But domestic savings remain low in the face of persistently high levels of public debt.

Its trade balance is positive, and total public debt is not as high as it is in other countries. Despite high unemployment and low growth, Germany does not face a short term threat to macroeconomic stability, though the country s population is declining and aging, implying huge challenges in the decades ahead.

Another major risk of interest rate liberalization in China stems from rising public debt, particularly local government debt, which has grown significantly in the wake of the global financial crisis. A key parameter for determining the long run sustainability of public debt is the gap between interest rates and the nominal GDP growth rate.

And budget deficits were held in check during and after the crisis, unlike in many other advanced countries. Of course, while this was necessary, given the high initial public debt burden, it limited counter cyclical stimulus and impeded growth.

Examples were given of Coptic people holding high public positions.

This is my global public debt clock, and, as you can see, it's 32 trillion and counting.

In Jordan, total public debt increased slightly from 7,071 to 7,293 million Jordanian dinars (JD) in 2004.

Meanwhile, governments were running large deficits a legacy of the economic downturn which renewed growth was supposed to shrink. In the eurozone, countries like Greece faced sovereign debt crises as bank bailouts turned private debt into public debt.

When considering today s concern about Japan s high public debt to GDP ratio, now at 202 on a gross basis, one needs to reflect that the ratio would most likely be profoundly lower if Japan had in the past financed more of its deficit spending with trills instead of conventional debt, and issued them to investors around the world. A lower debt burden would certainly help Japan deal with its economic slowdown.

In fact, China s high debt GDP ratio is, to a large extent, a result of its simultaneously high saving and investment rates. And, while the inability to repay loans can contribute to a high debt burden, the nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio for China s major banks stands at less than 1 .

But, if one compares the EU with the United States or Japan (where public debt equals 200 of GDP), the Union s current poor image is unjustified. Indeed, employment in the EU as a whole remains high, as do private savings rates.