The Secular Rise of Debt

A webinar panel discussion moderated by INET Fellow Moritz Schularick, with Laura Carvalho, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of São Paulo, Matthew C. Klein, Economics Commentator at Barron's, and Amir Sufi, Bruce Lindsay Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

#DebtTalks is a new INET webinar series from the Private Debt Initiative that brings together diverse voices to discuss one of the most pressing economic issues of our times: the surge in indebtedness. The world economy entered the COVID-19 pandemic with record debt levels. Since the global financial crisis, private and public debts have grown to more than $250 trillion, about three times global GDP. With the current crisis, global debt will surge even further. This has deep implications for the way our economies, societies, and politics work. What’s driving this increase in debt, and is indebtedness still manageable, or do we need a debt jubilee? Can households and companies cope with the overhang of debt? And what are the implications for growth, equity, and financial stability?

In this first part of our series we will explore why debt has grown so much in the past few decades, and what does it mean for the way our economies operate? What are its links to inequality and globalization? And we will aim to understand who the debtors are, and who are the creditors, and what societal processes turned them into either one. Please join this distinguished panel for an exploration of these pivotal questions.