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Mar 13, 2024
Barry Eichengreen On Living In a World of Higher Public Debt
What it means for policymakers around the globe. Barry Eichengreen, professor at the University of California Berkeley, during a Bloomberg Television interview at the Jackson Hole economic symposium
What it means for policymakers around the globe.
Barry Eichengreen, professor at the University of California Berkeley, during a Bloomberg Television interview at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Moran, Wyoming, US.
In recent years, the absolute level of government debt around the world has risen dramatically. The Covid emergency unleashed a huge wave of public-sector spending in 2020 and beyond. Meanwhile, spending remains high for other reasons, including public investment on climate and energy-related issues. So what does that mean for policy going forward? What does it mean for central banks tasked with controlling inflation? University of California at Berkeley economist Barry Eichengreen presented a paper on exactly this topic at this year’s Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. On this episode, we speak with Eichengreen about his research, why it's of importance to central bankers, and what history says about the prospects for fiscal consolidation. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
In recent years, the absolute level of government debt around the world has risen dramatically. The Covid emergency unleashed a huge wave of public-sector spending in 2020 and beyond. Meanwhile, spending remains high for other reasons, including public investment on climate and energy-related issues. So what does that mean for policy going forward? What does it mean for central banks tasked with controlling inflation? University of California at Berkeley economist Barry Eichengreen presented a paper on exactly this topic at this year’s Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. On this episode, we speak with Eichengreen about his research, why it's of importance to central bankers, and what history says about the prospects for fiscal consolidation. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.