Emu And Public Debt Management

Recoge: 1.Introduction - 2.Debt structures - 3.Convergence of debt structures and maturities - 4.Credit risk - 5.Government securities markets - 6.Public debt management.

Recoge: 1.Introduction - 2.Debt structures - 3.Convergence of debt structures and maturities - 4.Credit risk - 5.Government securities markets - 6.Public debt management.

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As Europe proceeds towards economic and monetary union, fiscal convergence and the prospect of a common money are at the centre of discussion. This volume from the Centre for Economic Policy Research brings together theoretical, applied and historical research on the management of public debt and its implications for financial stability. Gale fills a gap in the literature, using a consistent framework to investigate the welfare economics of public debt, while Calvo and Guidotti analyse the trade-off between indexation and maturity when it comes to minimizing debt service. Confidence crises have become relevant again in view of the high debt ratios in countries such as Belgium, Italy and Ireland. Alesina, Prati and Tabellini develop a formal model of the propagation of a debt run and use it to interpret Italian debt panics. Giavazzi and Pagano concentrate on how inappropriate debt management can precipitate a run on the currency while Makinen and Woodward review a broad sweep of historical experience.

Leading scholars and policy makers examine the challenges that are facing economic policies in the EMU today.

Abstract: This paper analyzes institutional arrangements for public debt management by reviewing the experience of OECD countries during the late 1980s and 1990s. It discusses principal-agent issues arising from the delegation of authority from the Minister of Finance to the debt management office and describes how countries have designed governance structures and control and monitoring mechanisms to deal with these issues. The paper also discusses what lessons emerging market countries and transition countries can draw from the experience of advanced OECD countries. The OECD experience clearly indicates that"regardless of whether the debt management office is located inside or outside the Ministry of Finance"four issues are of vital importance: Giving priority to strategic public policy objectives rather than tactical trading objectives; Strengthening the institutional capacity to deal with financial portfolio management and with the public policy aspects of debt management; Modernizing debt management; Creating mechanisms to ensure successful delegation and accountability to the Ministry of Finance and Parliament. This paper"a joint product of the Office of the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Development Economics, and Public Debt Management Group, Banking, Capital Markets, and Financial Engineering Department"is part of a larger effort in the Bank to analyze the institutional dimentions of effective government policy.