public debt

(redirected from Sovereign Debts)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal.

Public debt

Issues of debt by governments to compensate for a lack of tax revenues.

Public Debt

The total of all bonds and other debt owed by a government. Most of the time, the national debt comes from bonds and other debt securities, but some countries in the developing world borrow directly from international institutions (such as the World Bank). The national debt may be internal, that is, owed to bondholders and banks within the country, or external, that is, owed to foreign governments, institutions, and/or individuals. In the United States, paying the interest on the national debt is a major part of the federal budget. See also: Deficit.

public debt

the NATIONAL DEBT and other miscellaneous debt for which the government is ultimately accountable. Such debt includes, for example, the accumulated debts of nationalized industries and local authorities.

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

My own view is that an international bankruptcy court for sovereign debt would be useful in addressing these problems, and it would be desirable (largely for the reasons advanced by Sachs), but it is not now feasible.

Only the Argentine, Mexican, and Russian crises involved principally sovereign debt, and only the Argentine crisis involved principally sovereign debt issued on international markets; most of the Russian and Mexican sovereign debt was issued under domestic law.

The Krueger approach also fails the second test, for it, too, would not in its current form cover sovereign debt issued under domestic law.

Aside from the difficult issue of external financial sustainability, the central argument of those favoring substantial reform of the sovereign debt workout process is that there is a creditor coordination problem that must be addressed.

RICHARD COOPER EMPHASIZED THAT any new arrangements for dealing with sovereign debt had to include domestically held debt.