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Rising Debt in the Private Sector: A Cause for Concern?

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Profits, Deficits and Instability

Abstract

One of the most striking developments in the US economy over the past decade has been the growth of private sector debt. Highly publicised leveraged buy-outs and financial restructurings have saddled the corporate sector with levels of debt that are unprecedented in the post-war period. High consumer spending has fuelled the long expansion of the mid-1980s, but it has been financed with credit, putting the household sector deeply in debt.

The views expressed in this chapter are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City or the Federal Reserve System.

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© 1992 Dimitri B. Papadimitriou

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Caskey, J., Fazzari, S. (1992). Rising Debt in the Private Sector: A Cause for Concern?. In: Profits, Deficits and Instability. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11786-4_11

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