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Managing a Century of Debt

Author

Listed:
  • John Fitzgerald

    (Department of Economics, Trinity College Dublin)

  • Se n Kenny

    (University of Lund)

Abstract

This paper provides a consistent series for the Irish national debt since the foundation of the state. It also provides a continuous series for bond yields over the same period. The paper examines the factors behind the fluctuations in the debt burden over almost a century. The management of the debt burden by the Irish authorities has evolved over time, seeking to minimise both the burden on the economy and the risks which the debt represented to the state. The paper also examines how the cost of borrowing for the Irish government compared to that for the UK and, since the break with sterling, for Germany. This cost of borrowing was, in turn affected by developments in the domestic economy.

Suggested Citation

  • John Fitzgerald & Se n Kenny, 2018. "Managing a Century of Debt," Trinity Economics Papers tep0118, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:tcd:tcduee:tep0118
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    File URL: https://www.tcd.ie/Economics/TEP/2018/TEP0118.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. John Fitzgerald & Se n Kenny, 2017. "Till Debt Do Us Part :Financial Implications of the Divorce of the Irish Free State from the UK, 1922-6," Trinity Economics Papers tep2117, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    National debt; Ireland; debt burden;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H6 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt
    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • N14 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: 1913-

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