Synonyms
Definition
Public debt means the financial obligations of the public sector, i.e., of the governments and the public institutions at the local, state, and federal levels of a country. These moneys are borrowed from and owed to domestic and/or foreign lenders. Public debt is the accumulation of previously incurred budget deficits on the level of local, state, and national government, i.e., when government expenditures exceed government revenues. Public debt has to be distinguished from corporate debt (debt of companies) and debt of individuals and households (debt, ratio of personal household debt to GDP).
Description
Public debt is composed of various forms and types of obligations (debt). These may be distinguished by the maturity composition of the debt (short-term and long-term liabilities), the creditor type (official creditors, private creditors, multilateral financial institutions), the currency composition of the debt (domestic...
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Suter, C. (2014). Public Debt. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2318
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