Public debt and social expenditure: Friends or foes?

This paper assesses the effects of total public debt on social expenditure using an unbalanced panel of 50 countries between 1985 and 2003. The most robust finding is that higher debt ratios reduce social expenditures. Loans from multilateral organizations do not seem to ameliorate the adverse consequences of debt. Results indicate that defaults may have a direct positive effect on social expenditures. The main policy implication is that to protect social expenditures overindebtedness must be avoided.