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Debt, assets and imbalances in the euro area. An aggregate view

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  • Christophe Van Nieuwenhuyze

Abstract

The recent developments in the euro area have shown how important it is that the various economic sectors pay attention to their financial positions. In the literature, the approach to analyse these positions is often partial, focusing on the government sector or just on the gross debt, as in the case of Reinhart and Rogoff (2010) and Cecchetti et al. (2011). This paper conducts an aggregate analysis of the debt positions of the euro area countries, taking account not only of the public debt but also of private sector debt and the financial assets of the various sectors (net debt). On the basis of this analysis, it emerges that euro area countries differ extensively in terms of their total net debt. In a context of hampered financial integration, the euro area might benefit from a reduction of these differences. JEL Classification: E42, E61, F32, F34, F36, F4.

Suggested Citation

  • Christophe Van Nieuwenhuyze, 2013. "Debt, assets and imbalances in the euro area. An aggregate view," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 0(1), pages 123-152.
    • Handle: RePEc:cai:reofsp:reof_127_0123
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. M. de Sola Perea & Ch. Van Nieuwenhuyze, 2014. "Financial integration and fragmentation in the euro area," Economic Review, National Bank of Belgium, issue i, pages 99-125, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    euro; financial crisis; debt; imbalances; balance of payments; net international investment position; flow-of-funds; economic governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • F32 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Current Account Adjustment; Short-term Capital Movements
    • F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration
    • F4 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance

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