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Debt decomposition and the role of inflation: A security level analysis for India

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  • Das, Piyali
  • Ghate, Chetan

Abstract

To study India's debt dynamics, we assemble a novel data-set on Indian public debt with consistently defined aggregate annual components from 1951 to 2018, and Centre-State security level data from 2000 to 2018. Based on aggregate debt data, we quantify the contribution of inflation, real GDP growth, nominal interest rates and primary deficit/surplus towards India's debt-dynamics. We find that inflation is an important component in financing India's government debt historically. From the security level data, using the Hall-Sargent methodology, we find that nominal returns on the marketable and non-marketable portions of the Centre's debt account for the highest contribution towards changes in public debt. Our paper helps inform the debate on the adoption of flexible inflation targeting in India.

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  • Das, Piyali & Ghate, Chetan, 2022. "Debt decomposition and the role of inflation: A security level analysis for India," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:113:y:2022:i:c:s0264999322001018
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2022.105855
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    Cited by:

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    3. Hengyu Shi & Dingwei Song & Muhammad Ramzan, 2025. "Institutional Quality, Public Debt, and Sustainable Economic Growth: Evidence from a Global Panel," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-27, July.
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    6. Patel, Nikhil & Peralta-Alva, Adrian, 2025. "High public debts: Are shocks or discretionary fiscal policy to blame?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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