Private and public debt levels are high and possibly unsustainable.

Many African countries have used the past decade to put in place sound and sustainable economic policies that have delivered robust growth and low inflation. Together with debt relief, these policies have resulted in low levels of public debt, relatively sound financial systems, and most important rising living standards.

The country is also burdened with high levels of debt and limited resources.

They could contrast their high growth rates with Europe s high levels of debt.

Fiscal deficits must be cut to reduce debt levels.

That is why countries build up debt levels that put them in the danger zone.

In Europe, the market for Greek debt has frozen, and interest rate spreads between Irish and German euro denominated debt recently reached alarming levels.

The main reason for the lag is not simply low demand or large debts.

The average high debt episodes since 1800 last 23 years and are associated with a growth rate more than one percentage point below the rate typical for periods of lower debt levels.

This means extending the maturity dates of debts and reducing the interest rate on the new debt to levels much lower than currently unsustainable market rates.

Currently, they are wrestling with widening sovereign debt problems and high unemployment.

We cannot do that with national debt.

The stock imbalances include large and rising public and private debt as a share of GDP.

A long term alternative requires some capacity to write down debt where it has reached excessive levels.

Five years on, public, private, and external debt are at record levels in many countries.

In Brazil, the consequences of those crises were an inflationary spiral and an increase in foreign debt to stratospheric levels.

Source System of gender focused indicators (SIEG) 2001 national household survey on standards of living.

Such profligacy has led to levels of debt that will become unsustainable if we do not act.

National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, national household survey on standards of living, 2001.

National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, national household survey on standards of living, op. cit., p. 134.

And of course, there again is the matter of the soaring national debt.

Private leverage levels, as much as the public debt burden, must therefore be treated as crucial economic variables.

Reinhart and Rogoff s research broadly shows that GDP growth is slower at high levels of public debt.

General report, 2001 national household survey on standards of living. National Institute of Statistics and Censuses Programme for the Improvement of Surveys and the Measurement of Living Conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean (MECOVI).

But even institutionalized monetary austerity has not stopped national public debt levels from reaching 50 100 of GDP in Europe (higher in countries Greece and Italy) and surpassing 100 in the US.

National machineries must be fully integrated into policymaking at all levels of government.

But, for now, a complete meltdown seems distinctly less likely than gradual stabilization followed by a tepid recovery, with soaring debt levels and lingering high unemployment.

But Portugal s debt levels are still highly problematic by historical benchmarks (based on my research with Carmen Reinhart).

First, high levels of debt will limit both welfare benefits and future governments ability to swap favors for votes.

Bank deposits, along with most other private and public debts, were denominated in that national currency.

These subsidies are dangerous they encourage excessive risk taking and very high leverage meaning a lot of debt relative to equity for each bank and far too much debt relative to the economy as a whole.

Source Based on data from the system of gender focused indicators (SIEG) 2001 national household survey on standards of living.

The other Asian countries concerned are at various stages of preparing the NAPs.

First, different countries have different capacities to sustain public debt, depending on their initial deficit levels, existing debt burden, payment history, and policy credibility.

But now sovereign spreads in the peripheral eurozone countries have returned to the levels seen at the peak of the crisis in May.

Great Britain, Belgium, and even France find themselves at a debt level that does not leave much hope that they will escape unscathed.

As the crisis gathered pace, Ukraine was completely cut off from international financial markets, despite sound public finances and low foreign debt.

A long term alternative requires some capacity to write down debt where it has reached excessive levels. But it is also necessary to establish an iron clad guarantee of some part of the outstanding debt, in order to remove fear of a complete write down.

In some countries with high levels of debt and impaired growth, fiscal stimulus could raise the risk premium on sovereign debt and be counterproductive others have more flexibility.

It can be done Germany is reducing its debt burden to sustainable levels while strengthening its long term growth prospects.

So much for the sovereign debt crisis, which, given its national, regional, and global impact, has been particularly well covered.

Greece s default on its national debt need not mean an explicit refusal to make principal and interest payments when they come due.

Perfil comparativo de la pobreza en Nicaragua, National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, national household survey on standards of living, 1993 2001.

Structural reform however desirable it may be for the longer term simply is not a remedy for these countries short term growth conundrum.

Austerians believe that only balancing government budgets and shrinking national debts will restore investor confidence.