The link between private debt and public surplus in economies with current account deficits: an empirical analysis for Spain

Abstract

Throughout recent history, the Spanish economy registered a fiscal surplus only between 2005 and 2007. Analysts agree that this surplus was a product of the extraordinary economic growth, but they often fail to notice that it was based on similarly exceptional growth in private debt, which was a necessary condition for achieving fiscal surplus. This finding can be illuminated from the vantage of sectoral balances: in economies that usually run a current account deficit, such as Spain’s, a public surplus can be achieved only in situations characterized by a credit bubble. To verify this idea we examine the impact that the Spanish real estate and credit bubble had on public accounts, and we also estimate an econometric model of autoregressive vectors. The results corroborate the working hypothesis: Spain’s only fiscal surplus in recent years was achieved thanks to the largest private indebtedness process in the country’s history. This evidence could have important implications in terms of economic policy, because economies with regular current account deficits such as Spain could have difficulties in achieving their fiscal goals without experiencing credit booms.