Public Debt as a Form of Public Finance

by Richard E. Wagner

Economists commit a category mistake when they treat democratic governments as indebted. Monarchs can be indebted, as can individuals. In contrast, democracies can't truly be indebted. They are financial intermediaries that form a bridge between what are often willing borrowers and forced lenders. The language of public debt is an ideological language that promotes politically expressed desires and is not a scientific language that clarifies the practice of public finance. Economists have gone astray by assuming that a government is just another person whose impulses toward prudent action will restrict recourse to public debt and induce rational political action.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1108735894
• ISBN13: 9781108735896
• Release Date: May 2019
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 75 Pages
• Weight: 0.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"