The Influence of Public Debt and Its Structure on Economic Growth of Advanced Economies

The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of public debt structure on economic growth of advanced economies. The investigation mainly focuses on shifts in public debt structure which does not change the level of debt quota. Methodical approach follows similar exercises developed to evaluate the effects of tax shifts on economic growth. Debt decompositions are made according to i) original maturity of instruments; ii) currencies; iii) residency of creditors; iv) kind of instrument. The panel data regression of 24 OECD countries in the period from 2000 to 2014 is used. The main findings suggest that the structure of public debt matters to economic growth in every decomposition made. Moreover, it was found that shifts in debt structure which are neutral towards the level of debt quota could be associated with changes of economic growth rates. Hence, it is legit to deal with adequate public debt structure not only with debt level in terms of influencing the economic growth.