The History of the Political Economy of Public Debt
4th ESHET Latin America Conference, Belo Horizonte – Brazil, 19-21 November 2014
22 Pages Posted: 9 Dec 2014
Date Written: November 21, 2014
Abstract
This paper traces the different attempts to explain the role and the effects of public debt on national economies from the late 17th century to the postwar period of the 20th century. Its main emphasis lies in the treatment of public debt in the mercantilist, classical and post-classical period and ends with Lerner’s concept of functional finance.
Keywords: Public debt, functional finance, Daniel Defoe, Davenant, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas Robert Malthus, Karl Marx, Jean-Baptiste Say, C.F. Bastable, John Maynard Keynes, Ricardian equivalence, James Buchanan
JEL Classification: B1, B11, B12, B22, B26, E12, H6, H63
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation