Emerging Market vs. G7 Public Debt Levels
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit:
The current equity downturn has been just as hard on emerging market countries as it has on more developed nations. 
However, given that the downturn has been sparked by fears of seemingly unsustainable levels of public debt, emerging market stocks may be the baby getting thrown out with the bath water.
The table to the right shows the most recent levels of public debt as a percentage of GDP for each of the G-7 countries. As shown in the list, the average level of public debt to GDP is 94% and two countries have levels of debt that are in excess of 100% of GDP. Compared to the other six countries on the list, debt levels in the US seem downright thrifty!
