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Partially sighted persons and the public debt elephant

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  • John Considine
  • David Duffy

Abstract

Recent data on the accumulation patterns of public debt across OECD countries suggests a synthesis is possible between the theoretical and empirical approaches to public debt and also between the traditional and more recent political economy explanations of public debt accumulation. The inductive approach of recent political economy explanations is combined with the intertemporal constraints highlighted in the Ricardian–Barro theory to present a reinterpretation of cross-country debt accumulations patterns. Like the elephant in the blind men and the elephant fable, the conclusion is glaringly obvious. Formal and informal budgetary constraints matter. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2006

Suggested Citation

  • John Considine & David Duffy, 2006. "Partially sighted persons and the public debt elephant," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 237-249, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:17:y:2006:i:4:p:237-249
    DOI: 10.1007/s10602-006-9005-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Degiannakis, Stavros & Duffy, David & Filis, George, 2013. "Time-varying Business Cycles Synchronisation in Europe," MPRA Paper 52925, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Stavros Degiannakis & David Duffy & George Filis, 2014. "Business Cycle Synchronization in EU: A Time-Varying Approach," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 61(4), pages 348-370, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public debt; Budgetary rules; Political economy; H6; B2;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H6 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt
    • B2 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925

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