The best answer is to look not at the numerator (the debt) but the denominator (GDP)
, it is admittedly smaller than Japan’s. Like Japan, Italy has mostly run a current-account surplus, making it less dependent than, say, Britain, on the kindness of strangers. But Japan’s debt is mostly in its own currency, a chunk is owned by its central bank, and much of the rest is held by domestic savers . Many rich Italian savers also hold its debt, but some 45% of the stock is foreign-owned. And it is denominated in what is, in effect, a foreign currency: the euro.
It was Germany and France, not Italy, that first breached the euro zone’s stability-pact rules for budget deficits. When the financial crisis hit, Italy tipped into larger deficit. But for three decades it has usually run primary budget surpluses . Until covid-19 blew it off course in 2020, Italy kept its public debt broadly steady as a share of. Now rising inflation and interest rates may cause further problems.
Nor is it fair to accuse Italy of not collecting enough taxes to finance public spending. The tax take hovers at around 43% ofper head has fallen behind, and it is not clear Italians draw commensurate benefits in public services. So why is Italy’s public-debt burden still so notable? The best answer is to look not at the numerator but the denominator . Before the euro, Belgium also had a high debt ratio. Since then it has grown faster, one reason why its ratio has fallen to just over 100% of. Lorenzo Codogno, a former treasury official, has tried to model what might have happened to Italy’s ratio had it matched France’s growth over the past 25 years: he finds it would have fallen to 60% of.
Belgique Dernières Nouvelles, Belgique Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
TV fans aren't happy about the new ITN logoHalf a century of branding down the drain?
Lire la suite »
Stacey Solomon’s secret crisis: why keeping everyone else happy is taking its tollThe pressure this Christmas is on for the lady of Pickle Cottage - Stacey Solomon. Find out more on heatworld.
Lire la suite »
Why the NHS is in crisisThe NHS is on life support - from ambulance queues to a waiting list that has passed seven million people. With staff leaving in droves and thousands more set to strike, vsmacdonald reveals the true scale of the crisis facing the NHS this winter.
Lire la suite »