Abstract

Some International Economic Aspects of Public Debt

The economic policy debate in recent times has centred around investment volume, public expenditures and the balance of payments. While people are generally aware of the interdependent relationship between investment activity and government activity, the global relationship between public spending and the balance of payments is regularly underestimated or not registered at all. This article therefore concentrates on the examination of this relationship. Public expenditures are financed by way of taxes, credits or securities. Each of these forms of financing has a quite specific influence on the liquidity of an economy and on the interest level, and via the latter also on the balance of payments. This has an impact not only on the interest-dependent, short-term (but also long-term) capital movements, but also, via the capital account, on the current account, and finally via current account on the national income. But public expenditures can also be financed by borrowing abroad. Such foreign credits have similar effects on the balance of payments as borrowing at home. Particularly in recent years, allthese effects have influenced the behaviour of private economic entities so that for the liquidity policy of an economy it is of decisive importance to adjust to such effects on behaviour. For monetary policy this then means that at the present time not only quantitative, but especially qualitative objectives must be pursued.