Every economy faces a ``fiscal limit'' that delivers the maximum government debt-GDP ratio that can be sustained without appreciable risk of default or higher inflation. But governments in advanced economies issue substantial nominal debt and nominal debt is a commitment to repay in nominal...

The paper links money supply to the state budget deficit in the Italian historical context. The process of monetization of government deficit is analysed and is related both to the fixity of the exchange rate and free capital mobility typical of the 1860-1913 period. The empirical evidence...