From the introduction:

Claudio Sardoni's chapter starts from the observation that while the significant fiscal interventions during the crisis, which contributed to the increase in budget deficits and public debts had been called for and supported by many mainstream economists, governments and international economic institutions, again with the support of most economists, now call for drastic measures to reduce their deficits and the ratio of public debt to GDP. In the mainstream view, if the ratio of public debt to GDP is growing and has to be reduced or stabilised, the government must run a primary surplus, which is realised through public expenditure cuts and/or tax increases. This prescription is derived from the analysis of the socalled dynamic budget constraint, which is carried out under a number of hypotheses on the relevant variables. Sardoni's chapter takes issue with the mainstream approach to the public debt at the theoretical as well as the analytical level. He also discusses an alternative approach to public debt, which is inspired by the works of Keynes, Hicks and Domar. This alternative approach does not undervalue or deny the problem of a high and growing debt ratio. However, a high and growing debt ratio should be a matter of concern because it denotes the state?s inability to use its resources in an efficient way, i.e. in a way that favours the economy?s capacity to grow, not because it implies an inevitable future increase of taxes or because the state could default if unable to repay its debt.