A paper directed at the G7 economies warns that increasing debt levels are not something to be ignored. The authors, Carlo Cottarelli and Andrea Schaechter further warn that as populations age, they will face more and more pressure from mounting debt. However, while they do say reform is necessary, it should not be too swift. They say government as a whole must shrink, but it must still play roles in areas of basic services and " in particular in maintaining a level playing field by giving equal opportunities to all individuals regardless of their conditions at birth."
Another paper, by Jonathan Ostry, states that different countries naturally have different levels of debt they can absorb before reaching an unsustainable level of debt. He warns that countries with lower levels, like Japan, need more immediate reform from their traditional practices.
However, another paper says defaulting on debts is “unnecessary, undesirable and unlikely." This paper says that defaults will not help in the long-term with debt, because the structural causes of these debts and deficits are the real problems, not the interest payments.
This article from the New York Times presents a short summary of three separate papers on debt and deficits that go beyond saying "debt is bad" and actually suggest realistic ramifications, future possibilities, and suggest courses of action to take and to avoid. It's not a long read and I thought the part at the end about defaults being a terrible option was particularly interesting. If anyone is interested more in the governmental and international relationship sides of economics, this is a good article to read.
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