Paul Krugman: Be Careful With Debt History

Thursday 19 January 2012

by: Paul Krugman, Krugman & Co.

One thing that apparently comes as a surprise to many people who love to intone about what history tells us about the dangers of debt is the fact that Britain has had remarkably high public debt relative to gross domestic product for most of its modern history.

But here’s a question: How relevant are these historical debt levels to current concerns?