The Debt Burden: how to create a sustainable debt management framework

Date: 29 March 2021

Abstract

The world is currently facing an unprecedented level of sovereign debt – and debt is continuing to pile up. The state of sovereign borrowing was critical prior to the pandemic, with several countries already facing limited fiscal space and increasing levels of debt, but the situation has deteriorated, tipping some economies over the edge.

In this seminar, we presenedt the preliminary conclusions of a paper on good practices in sovereign borrowing. The main topics covered were:

• the status and causes of the debt accumulation problem
• the importance of debt management as a preventative measure
• initiatives put in place to address the causes and consequences of the debt problem
• how the lack of transparency has hindered accurate debt sustainability assessments and investment analyses
• policy lessons critical to successful debt management.

Presentation of Research Paper:

“The Debt Burden: how to create a better debt management framework” by Professor Rodrigo Olivares-Caminal (Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London) and Professor Paola Subacchi (Queen Mary Global Policy Institute, Queen Mary University of London).

Chair:

• Karin Strohecker (Thomson Reuters)

Discussants:

• Federico Bonaglia (Deputy Director, OECD Development Centre)
• Yannis Manuelides (Partner, Allen & Overy)
• Gelsomina Vigliotti (Director General for International Financial Relations, Italian Treasury)