The great balancing act

The great balancing act: Managing the coming $30 trillion deficit while restoring economic growth

Rima Assi, David Fine and Kevin Sneader

As they continue to grapple with a global pandemic, governments will need to manage deficits and debt-payment plans while finding the best ways to support economic recovery.

The dual imperative of our time is to save lives and safeguard livelihoods—and governments around the world are pulling out all the stops to do so. The resulting ramp-up of relief and stimulus spending to unprecedented levels has occurred just as tax revenues have slumped. As a result, government deficits worldwide could reach $9 trillion to $11 trillion in 2020, and a cumulative total of as much as $30 trillion by 2023. Read more