The Forgotten History of Domestic Debt

Bibliographic Data

ID9712850
AuthorsCarmen M Reinhart (Peterson Institute for International Economics, CEPR and NBER), Cornel Reinhart (0000-0003-4355-1411, Peterson Institute for International Economics), Kenneth S Rogoff (Harvard University and NBER), Kenneth Rogoff (0000-0002-1505-4998, Harvard University)
Year2011
Volume121
Issue552
Pages319-350
Publication date2011-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Economic Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-0133 • E-ISSN: 1468-0297
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-0297.2011.02426.x
OpenAlexW2123358062
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited31

The literature on domestic debt default is sparse, as are the data. We compile a database on public debt that spans the nineteenth century to 2010. Our findings are as follows. First, domestic debt accounts for almost two‐thirds of public debt. Second, the data help to explain the puzzle of why countries default on external debts at seemingly low debt thresholds. Third, domestic debt (which is often larger than the monetary base in the run‐up to high inflation) has largely been ignored in the inflation literature. Last, the view that domestic residents are junior to external creditors does not find broad support

Creditor · Debt · Debt levels and flows · Debt-to-GDP ratio · Default · Economics · External debt · Inflation (cosmology · Internal debt · Macroeconomics · Monetary economics · Recourse debt · Senior debt · Finance · Fiscal Policies and Political Economy · Global Financial Crisis and Policies · Monetary Policy and Economic Impact

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