Government DebtWhat the debt burden means, and what actually makes it sustainable.EconomicsThe debt ratio falls when nominal growth exceedsthe effective interest rate on the debt.Debt ratio falls when g > r, given a primary balanceg > rRatio falls even with a deficitr > gNeeds a primary surplusOwn-currency debtDifferent risk profileTHE COMMON MISTAKETreating a government like a householdIt has an indefinite horizon and issues the currencyA household must repay within a lifetime. A government rolls debt overindefinitely, so the ratio matters more than the level.Educational reference. Debt in a foreign currency carries genuinelydifferent risks from debt in one's own.Government Debtlearnposters.com
Government Debt — printable business wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Government Debt poster

The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.

Educational reference. Debt in a foreign currency carries genuinely different risks from debt in one's own.

Questions about the Government Debt poster

What’s on the Government Debt poster?
The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. The debt ratio falls when nominal growth exceeds the effective interest rate on the d…; Debt ratio falls when g > r, given a primary balance; g > r = Ratio falls even with a deficit; r > g = Needs a primary surplus; Own-currency debt = Different risk profile; Common mistake: Treating a government like a household → It has an indefinite horizon…. Educational reference. Debt in a foreign currency carries genuinely different risks from debt in one's own.
Who is the Government Debt poster for?
Government Debt belongs to the Economics section rather than to a school year, because business is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning macroeconomics can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Government Debt poster?
The ratio to GDP matters more than the level, and growth can reduce it without repayment. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Government Debt belongs on the wall where that business work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Government Debt?
Aggregate Demand & Supply, The Business Cycle and Economic Growth sit alongside Government Debt in the Economics section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Aggregate Demand & SupplyThe Business CycleEconomic Growth
Is the Government Debt poster free to download and print?
Yes. Government Debt downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Economics section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Government Debt poster print at?
Government Debt is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Government Debt loses nothing.Printing guide

Related posters

Charts that sit alongside Government Debt on the same wall.

Browse every Economics poster, or start from the full catalogue.