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Government borrowing is cheap but not without risks

9th December 2019

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Ken Rogoff's latest Project Syndicate piece looks at the current trend for funding spending promises by taking on more debt, with many politicians arguing that low interest rates offer a justification for this.

His view is that there are a number of reasons for a more cautious approach, not least because there's no guarantee that interest rates are going to stay low ad infinitum, and the extent to which debt might impinge upon the ability of states to finance seemingly ever-larger expenditures on ageing populations.

In short, it urges care: suggesting that extrapolating into the future on the basis of the past isn't always wise.

Public borrowing is cheap but ramping up debt is not without risk | Kenneth Rogoff https://t.co/mXh7COxKak
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 9, 2019

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Graham Watson

Graham Watson has taught Economics for over twenty years. He contributes to Tutor2U, reads voraciously and is interested in all aspects of Teaching and Learning.

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Government borrowing is cheap but not without risks

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