HKS Affiliated Authors

Excerpt

Does Debt Matter? Jeffrey Frankel, July 4, 2013, Opinion. "“Does Debt Matter?” is the question posed by The International Economy to 20 commentators: “The recent scrutiny of the popularized version of the Rogoff-Reinhart thesis (that growth plummets when debt exceeds 90 percent of GDP) makes clear there are no simple formulas for determining the risks in the level of a nation’s debt. …Can a realistic guide be fashioned for determining whether a nation’s debt has reached a danger zone? Or are countries from here on expected to pursue fiscal reforms only if and when a crisis sets in?” My response is yes, debt matters. I don’t think I know of anyone who believes that a high level of debt is without ..." Link