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On the changes in the sustainability of European external debt: what have we learned

Author

Listed:
  • Juan Carlos Cuestas
  • Luis A. Gil-Alana
  • Paolo Jose Regis

Abstract

In this paper we aim to analyse the level of sustainability of external debt and, more importantly, how it has changed for a number of European economies. Given the severity of the crisis since 2008, we argue that the path of external debt burdens may have changed since the start of the crisis, given the concerns about debt accumulation in most countries. We follow the advice of Bohn (2007) and analyse the reaction of present debt accumulation to past debt stock, incorporating the possibility of endogenously determined structural breaks in this reaction function. We find that structural breaks happen in most cases after 2008, highlighting the importance of the policy measures taken by most governments.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Carlos Cuestas & Luis A. Gil-Alana & Paolo Jose Regis, 2014. "On the changes in the sustainability of European external debt: what have we learned," Bank of Estonia Working Papers wp2014-3, Bank of Estonia, revised 10 Oct 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:eea:boewps:wp2014-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    external debt; sustainability; crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes

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