IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/ngooec/v68y2022i2p1-18n5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Debt Have Threshold Effects on Medium-Term Growth? Evidence from European Union Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Fir Nejc

    (Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia, Župančičeva ulica 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Abstract

Debt has become an important factor in economic activity and its extent has incentivized many researchers to incorporate it into contemporary growth models. On the positive side, debt has the ability to smoothen private consumption, firms’ investment and government expenditure in relation to their corresponding income, subsequently leading to better capital allocation. However, the history of debt defaults and lessons from European sovereign debt crises, which were accompanied by strict austerity measures, have warned us about the danger of debt overhang and unsustainable debt burdens. This paper tackles the question of the existence of a turning point, at which the negative effects of debt start to prevail in the economic process. In the sample of European Union countries in the period from 1995 to 2019, the author of this paper investigated the presence of threshold effects of government, non-financial corporate and household debt on medium-term growth following the paper by Mika and Žumer (2017). The author first confirmed the concave-shaped relationship between public debt and growth with a threshold of 111.6% of GDP, based on Eurostat debt-to-GDP data. In contrast, private debt was found to have first lag effects with an accompanied convex-shaped relationship between private debt and growth and with a corresponding threshold of 149.8% of GDP. Next, the author divided private debt into non-financial corporate and household debt to investigate a more detailed relationship between debt and growth. Corresponding to the Global Debt Database, the concave-shaped relationship between public debt and growth was confirmed with a threshold of 104.8% of GDP. Both of the investigated types of private debt confirmed the previously explored lagged impact on medium-term growth and a convex-shaped relationship between non-financial corporate and household debt and growth. The threshold of non-financial corporate debt stands at 138.3% of GDP, while that for household debt is 145.1% of GDP. Considering the presence of thresholds may offer an important message to economic policymakers, as timely and suitable governance can lead to either higher economic growth or prevent adverse effects of excessive indebtedness.

Suggested Citation

  • Fir Nejc, 2022. "Does Debt Have Threshold Effects on Medium-Term Growth? Evidence from European Union Countries," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 68(2), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:ngooec:v:68:y:2022:i:2:p:1-18:n:5
    DOI: 10.2478/ngoe-2022-0007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/ngoe-2022-0007
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/ngoe-2022-0007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joseph W. H. Lough, 2014. "A Model For Economic Growth In Bosnia And Herzegovina," Economic Review: Journal of Economics and Business, University of Tuzla, Faculty of Economics, vol. 12(1), pages 15-30.
    2. Eberhardt, Markus & Presbitero, Andrea F., 2015. "Public debt and growth: Heterogeneity and non-linearity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 45-58.
    3. Vito Peragine & Flaviana Palmisano & Paolo Brunori, 2014. "Economic Growth and Equality of Opportunity," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(2), pages 247-281.
    4. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2010. "Growth in a Time of Debt," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 573-578, May.
    5. Singh, Nirvikar, 2014. "Essays on India’s Economy: Growth and Innovation," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt8fc2c026, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    6. Antonio Afonso & Jose Alves, 2015. "The Role of Government Debt in Economic Growth," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 215(4), pages 9-26, December.
    7. Lim, Jamus Jerome, 2019. "Growth in the shadow of debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 98-112.
    8. Narayan, Paresh Kumar & Sharma, Susan & Poon, Wai Ching & Westerlund, Joakim, 2014. "Do oil prices predict economic growth? New global evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 137-146.
    9. Mika, Alina & Zumer, Tina, 2017. "Indebtedness in the EU: a drag or a catalyst for growth?," Working Paper Series 2118, European Central Bank.
    10. Law, Siong Hook & Singh, Nirvikar, 2014. "Does too much finance harm economic growth?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 36-44.
    11. Farid Ullah & Abdur Rauf & Nasir Rasool, 2014. "Analyzing the Impact of Globalization on Economic Growth," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 10(2), pages 87-99, April.
    12. Mr. Santiago Acosta Ormaechea, 2020. "Public Debt Dynamics and Intra-Year Exchange Rate Fluctuations," IMF Working Papers 2020/261, International Monetary Fund.
    13. Mr. Andrea Pescatori & Mr. Damiano Sandri & John Simon, 2014. "Debt and Growth: Is There a Magic Threshold?," IMF Working Papers 2014/034, International Monetary Fund.
    14. Gómez-Puig, Marta & Sosvilla-Rivero, Simón, 2018. "Nonfinancial debt and economic growth in euro-area countries," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 17-37.
    15. Caner, Mehmet & Grennes,Thomas & Koehler-Geib, Fritzi, 2010. "Finding the tipping point -- when sovereign debt turns bad," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5391, The World Bank.
    16. S M Ali Abbas & Nazim Belhocine & Asmaa El-Ganainy & Mark Horton, 2011. "Historical Patterns and Dynamics of Public Debt—Evidence From a New Database," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 59(4), pages 717-742, November.
    17. repec:eco:journ1:2014-02-19 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Yuli Radev, 2014. "Economic Growth and Resource Amenity," Ikonomiceski i Sotsialni Alternativi, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 2, pages 18-32, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rutayisire, J.Musoni, 2021. "Public debt dynamics and nonlinear effects on economic growth : evidence from Rwanda," MPRA Paper 110931, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Séverine MENGUY, 2019. "Does public indebtedness constrain or can it favor economic growth? A simple analytical modeling," Bulletin of Applied Economics, Risk Market Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 1-29.
    3. Yun Jung Kim & Jing Zhang, 2021. "The Relationship Between Debt and Output," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 69(1), pages 230-257, March.
    4. Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso & Marta Gómez-Puig & Simón Sosvilla-Rivero, 2019. "“Re-examining the debt-growth nexus: A grouped fixed-effect approach”," IREA Working Papers 201911, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Jul 2019.
    5. Panagiotis Pegkas, 2018. "The Effect of Government Debt and Other Determinants on Economic Growth: The Greek Experience," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Law, Siong Hook & Ng, Chee Hung & Kutan, Ali M. & Law, Zhi Kei, 2021. "Public debt and economic growth in developing countries: Nonlinearity and threshold analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 26-40.
    7. Ahmed MAAROUFI & Ghazi BOULILA, 2021. "Non-linear effect of public debt on economic growth: The case of Tunisia," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(4(629), W), pages 121-134, Winter.
    8. Gómez-Puig, Marta & Sosvilla-Rivero, Simón & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2022. "On the heterogeneous link between public debt and economic growth," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Janice Boucher Breuer & John McDermott, 2019. "Debt And Depression," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(4), pages 714-730, October.
    10. Maxime MENUET & Alexandru MINEA & Patrick VILLIEU, 2017. "Public Debt, Endogenous Growth Cycles and Indeterminacy," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 2467, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    11. Haytham Y.M. Ewaida, 2017. "The Impact of Sovereign Debt on Growth: An Empirical Study on GIIPS versus JUUSD Countries," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2A), pages 607-633.
    12. Balázs Égert, 2015. "Public debt, economic growth and nonlinear effects: Myth or reality?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 226-238.
    13. Yannis Dafermos, 2015. "The ‘other half’ of the public debt–economic growth relationship: a note on Reinhart and Rogoff," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 12(1), pages 20-28, April.
    14. Panizza, Ugo & Fatás, Antonio & Ghosh, Atish R. & ,, 2019. "The Motives to Borrow," CEPR Discussion Papers 13735, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. De Vita, Glauco & Trachanas, Emmanouil & Luo, Yun, 2018. "Revisiting the bi-directional causality between debt and growth: Evidence from linear and nonlinear tests," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 55-74.
    16. Philipp Heimberger, 2021. "Do Higher Public Debt Levels Reduce Economic Growth?," wiiw Working Papers 211, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    17. Bitar, Nicholas & Chakrabarti, Avik & Zeaiter, Hussein, 2018. "Were Reinhart and Rogoff right?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 614-620.
    18. Mika, Alina & Zumer, Tina, 2017. "Indebtedness in the EU: a drag or a catalyst for growth?," Working Paper Series 2118, European Central Bank.
    19. João Tovar Jalles & Mr. Paulo A Medas, 2022. "Economic Growth After Debt Surges," IMF Working Papers 2022/159, International Monetary Fund.
    20. Kummer-Noormamode, Sabina, 2018. "The Relationship between Public Debt and Economic Growth: Nonlinearity and Country-Specificity," MPRA Paper 98075, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Indebtedness; Medium-term growth; Threshold effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:ngooec:v:68:y:2022:i:2:p:1-18:n:5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.