Global debt dynamics: The elephant in the room

• Published in: World economy Vol. 41; no. 12; pp. 3256 - 3268
• Main Authors: Antoniades, Andreas, Griffith‐Jones, Stephany
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-12-2018
• Subjects: Accumulation; Bond issues; Economic analysis; Economic crisis; economic inequality; External debt; global debt; Global economy; Income inequality; International finance; Money; Regional movements; Swap arrangements; total credit; Wealth
• ISSN: 0378-5920; 1467-9701
• DOI: 10.1111/twec.12623

This introduction analyses the nature and characteristics of global debt dynamics in the post global financial crisis period. First, we attempt to map the ways in which debt has been moving from sector to sector and from one group of countries to another within the global economy. By capturing this intersectorial, international, inter‐regional movements of global debt, we aspire to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of global debt and its mode of operation. Second, we attempt to analyse what is wrong with global debt dynamics, that is, we examine the broken link between what global debt was supposed to do and what it does. Here, we point to three interrelated dynamics: the accumulation of unproductive debt, growing inequalities of income and wealth and the increase in privately created, interest‐bearing money. We conclude by discussing how each paper in this special issue contributes to the current state of the art on the analysis of global debt dynamics in emerging and developing economies.