CESifo Forum 01/2022: Public Debt: How to Cope with the Legacy of the Pandemic

According to the latest IMF projections, by the end of 2021 the debt-to-GDP ratio in advanced countries will be 18 percentage points higher than before the pandemic, and 10 percentage points higher in emerging economies. With continuously rising deficits, government debt has already reached unprecedented levels worldwide. This edition of the CESifo Forum looks at how to deal with the high levels of debt created by the dramatic increase in government spending during the pandemic. Leading experts from Europe and the US also discuss the growing debt in a historical context, examining its structural causes even before the pandemic and the challenges of an aging society. Furthermore, they assess the extent to which it is possible to grow out of debt, reduce future deficits, and how low interest rates can contribute to sustainability.