Die explizite und implizite öffentliche Schuld in den südosteuropäischen EU-Mitgliedstaaten
Explicit and Implicit Public Debt in the Southeast European EU Member States

Summary/Abstract: Excessive borrowing during the global economic crisis caused public debt to soar in many Southeast European member states of the EU. The result is that not only Greece is facing a fiscal squeeze but also do Hungary, Cyprus and others. Moreover, on top of this – explicit – public debt there are so-called implicit liabilities. They are related to the promise of the government to pay pensions, offer medical treatment to the insured, and to provide long-term care to the elderly. The implicit liabilities that governments bear are in the vicinity of 500 per cent of the GDP in Greece, Slovenia, or Cyprus. Given the demographic trend they may – without immediate countermeasures – rise further. In the article, a standard model is employed to evaluate the effects of selected policies aimed at dealing with the burgeoning explicit and implicit debt in the countries considered.

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