PUBLIC DEBT MANAGEMENT

This paper examined the issue of managing public debt and analyses the present situation of public debt in Pakistan. When the government resorts to borrowing instead of introducing additional tax measures, to finance the budget deficit, it creates liability on itself known as public debt. Public debt accumulates over time if deficit in the budget presists for a long period of time. Growing public debt is a global phenomenon. Contemporary economic wisdom does not consider public debt a major problem per se; rather problem is the mismanagement and unsustainability of the debt. In Pakistan, due to improper use of debt, the debt management has become a much serious problem. Presitent mismanagement of debt made it unsustainable, which is threatening to cause further slowdown in the declining growth rate of the country. Off course, current exercises of debt restructuring could not help improve our debt to GDP ratio immediately: however, it has improved some short run debt burden indicators significantly. It is hoped that these reschedulings/restructuring will help us in increasing the investment and to promote growth. By improving our debt managemet process we can ensure it.