Abstract
Since 2018 the IMF has compiled Public Sector Balance Sheets (PSBS) for those countries for which the necessary data is available. This demonstrates quite wide differences in the scale and nature of public sector assets and liabilities, and of their aggregate net worth. One noteworthy observation is that the G7 countries tend to have weak balance sheets and that these are getting weaker. Five of the G7 actually report negative net worth, and six have seen their position deteriorate since the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis. This raises concerns both about their ability to respond to financial shocks, or to meet the increasing demands on government finances caused by demographics and climate change.
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Notes
- 1.
Gaspar, V. et al. (2018) “The Wealth of Nations: Governments Can Better Manage What They Own and Owe”.
- 2.
Harris, J. and Tieman, A.F. (2018) “Managing Public Wealth”.
- 3.
IMF. Government Financial Statistics Manual 2014.
- 4.
See IMF Data website: data.imf.org.
- 5.
It should be noted that there are some differences between the accounting rules adopted by statisticians, as in the Government Finance Satatistics Manual, and those used by accountants in the production of financial statements. For example, International Public Sector Accounting Standards do not currently include mineral reserves on the balance sheet.
- 6.
IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2023. GDP expressed at current prices.
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Ball, I., Buiter, W., Crompton, J., Detter, D., Soll, J. (2024). Comparison of Public Sector Balance Sheets. In: Public Net Worth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44343-5_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44343-5_9
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