Public Debt, Inequality, and Power: The Making of a Modern Debt State

Sandy Brian Hager

book: Public Debt, Inequality, and Power

Open Access Published by University of California Press 2016

Public Debt, Inequality, and Power

The Making of a Modern Debt State

Sandy Brian Hager

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780520960428

Overview
Contents

About this book

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s open access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.

Who are the dominant owners of U.S. public debt? Is it widely held, or concentrated in the hands of a few? Does ownership of public debt give these bondholders power over our government? What do we make of the fact that foreign-owned debt has ballooned to nearly 50 percent today? Until now, we have not had any satisfactory answers to these questions. Public Debt, Inequality, and Power is the first comprehensive historical analysis of public debt ownership in the United States. It reveals that ownership of federal bonds has been increasingly concentrated in the hands of the 1 percent over the last three decades. Based on extensive and original research, Public Debt, Inequality, and Power will shock and enlighten.

Author / Editor information

Hager Sandy Brian :

Sandy Brian Hager is Postdoctoral Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. He has published in various journals, including New Political Economy and Socio-Economic Review.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
List of Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. Introduction: Public Debt, Inequality, and Power Open Access Download PDF	1
2. The Spectacle of a Highly Centralized Public Debt Open Access Download PDF	14
3. The Bondholding Class Resurgent Open Access Download PDF	34
4. Fiscal Conflict: Past and Present Open Access Download PDF	55
5. Bonding Domestic and Foreign Owners Open Access Download PDF	70
6. Who Rules the Debt State? Open Access Download PDF	83
7. Conclusion: Informing Democratic Debate Open Access Download PDF	96
Appendix: Accounting for the Public Debt Open Access Download PDF	105
Notes Open Access Download PDF	123
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	143
Index Open Access Download PDF	153

Language: English
Publisher: University of California Press
Pages
- Main content: 174

eBook

Published: June 24, 2016
ISBN: 9780520960428