Large-scale debt forbearance is a key policy tool during crises, yet targeting is challenging due to information asymmetries. Using transaction-level data from a Portuguese bank during COVID-19, we find that financially fragile households are more likely to enter forbearance, irrespective of...

This study explores perceptions of public debt management among Debt Management Offices (DMOs) in low- and middle-income countries. Based on a survey conducted in October 2023 covering 27 countries, it examines DMOs' views on the relationship between public debt and economic growth, the...

ypical debt sustainability metrics characterize Kenya's sovereign debt as "unsustainable" since around 2019. Further, the data show that, over time, commercial banks' private sector lending has declined while lending to the government has grown. Given these observations, this study examines...

We examine the effects of debt distribution characteristics, specifically skewness and maturity concentration, on sovereign yields across OECD countries over the period 1995Q1 to 2020Q4. After computing specific Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients, we find that positive skewness generally exerts...

Using a monthly panel dataset of individuals' debt, we show that house price changes can explain a significant fraction of personal debt composition dynamics. We exploit the variation in local house price growth as shocks to homeowners' housing wealth to study the consequential adjustment of...

Following modest growth of 0.4% in 2023, the Commission's 2024 autumn forecast projects real GDP to rise by 0.9% in 2024. Economic activity is expected to accelerate to 1.5% in 2025 driven by stronger consumption and a rebound in investment from its contraction in 2024. In 2026, the economy is...