This paper examines the recent dramatic increase in the ratio of US non-financial debt to GNP. It concludes that it is largely the result of federal budget deficits. There does not appear to have been a major change in traditional patterns of private sector borrowing in recent years. The excessive accumulation of Federal debt probably threatens financial stability more than recent increases in private debt.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
2061.
Length: Date of creation: Oct 1986 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:2061
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Benjamin M. Friedman, 1982.
"Debt and Economic Activity in the United States,"
NBER Chapters,
in: The Changing Roles of Debt and Equity in Financing U.S. Capital Formation, pages 91-110
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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