Public debt and demography. An analysis of the Italian case

Schilirò, Daniele (2024): Public debt and demography. An analysis of the Italian case.

Abstract

This paper focuses on the challenges posed by high public debt and demographic decline in Italy. The interplay between these two factors threatens debt sustainability and hinders economic growth. A large debt stock constrains economic policy choices and limits national sovereignty. Meanwhile, population decline affects public spending and tends to exacerbate public debt, further complicating its sustainability. Possible policy options to counterbalance this issue include immigration, increasing labor force participation, pension reforms, fiscal consolidation, and investment in education targeted at the young population.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: public debt; demography; declining population; sustainable debt; growth; immigration
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F3 - International Finance; H - Public Economics > H6 - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt > H60 - General; H - Public Economics > H6 - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt > H63 - Debt ; Debt Management ; Sovereign Debt; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies

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