Publication: Drivers of Public Debt in East Asia and Pacific Economies
Date
2022-12-16
ISSN
Published
2022-12-16
Author(s)
Islamaj, Ergys
Samano, Agustin
Abstract
Public debt in developing East Asia
and Pacific (EAP) economies has increased markedly since the
recession in 2020 induced by COVID-19 pandemic. This brief
uses standard debt dynamic accounting decomposition to
quantify the main drivers of debt accumulation in developing
EAP countries since 2000. In the aftermath of the COVID-19
pandemic, larger primary deficits have been the main drivers
of the increase in the ratio of public debt to GDP in most
developing EAP economies. While strong GDP growth and, to a
certain extent, inflation have helped deflate
public-debt-to-GDP ratios during the past two decades, they
have, on average, been more muted since the COVID-19 shock.
Citation
“Islamaj, Ergys; Samano, Agustin. 2022. Drivers of Public Debt in East Asia and Pacific Economies. Research & Policy Briefs;60. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/38422 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”