COVID-19 debt relief

Main author: Becchetti, Leonardo
Other authors: Scaramozzino, Pasquale
Format: Journal Article           
Online access: Click here to view record


id eprints-36987
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
topic HJ Public Finance
description The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global shock with dramatic consequences on debts of governments called to alleviate the economic and social impact of the crisis on firms and households. We explore conditions for the feasibility of (COVID-19 generated) government debt relief, justified in principle by the exogenous characteristics of the shock. We outline several technically and economically feasible ways (involving debt “freezing”, debt rescheduling or outright debt cancellation) for achieving this goal and discuss their consequences on moral hazard and the Central Bank balance sheets, as well as their potential impact on CB’s independence, reputation and, ultimately, on inflation and exchange rates. We also discuss the distributive concerns which arise when a CB (as in the Eurozone) operates in a Union with several sovereign member states.
format Journal Article
author Becchetti, Leonardo
author_facet Becchetti, Leonardo
Scaramozzino, Pasquale
authorStr Becchetti, Leonardo
author_letter Becchetti, Leonardo
author2 Scaramozzino, Pasquale
author2Str Scaramozzino, Pasquale
title COVID-19 debt relief
publisher Centro Interdisciplinare Scienze per la Pace, Università di Pisa
publishDate 2021
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/36987/