The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council hosted its fifth annual conference focusing on long-term public finance issues online on 8th-9th February 2021.
The conference focused on the theme of fiscal policy in the era of high public debt and low interest rates that follows the outbreak of Covid-19.
The conference had two sessions: the first looked at fiscal policy of high debt conditional on current interest rates (debt sustainability analysis; what does it means for the fiscal rules, how should policymakers respond). The second took a more “big picture” look at the sustainability of low interest rates given high public debt, ageing, financial implications and whether such pressures might influence monetary policy.
Presentation slides
- Antonio Fatás (INSEAD) – Potential Output, Cyclical Scars and Fiscal Policy
- Stéphanie Pamies (European Commission) – Assessing public debt sustainability: challenges ahead
- Cristina Checherita-Westphal (ECB) – Interest rate-growth differentials on government debt: an empirical investigation for the euro area
- Frank O’ Connor (NTMA) – Debt Sustainability – An Investor Perspective
- Karolina Ekholm (Stockholm University) – Economic policy mix in a low interest rate environment
- Olivier Blanchard (PIIE) – Thoughts on fiscal policy
- Eddie Casey (Irish Fiscal Advisory Council) – Managing government debt at high altitude: velocity, instability and headwinds
Videos
Karolina Ekholm – Economic policy mix in a low interest rate environment
Olivier Blanchard – Debt sustainability in theory and in practice
Eddie Casey – Managing government debt at high altitude: velocity, instability and headwinds