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Revision history for this page on the wikienMediaWiki 1.13.3Sun, 01 Nov 2026 19:57:59 GMTHarrisScarborough683: New page: Italy has moved to centre stage in the eurozone debt crisis. While Greece generated a lot of noise, it is now seen as a sideshow. Greece's debt problems are already widely known and the ...
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<p>New page: Italy has moved to centre stage in the eurozone debt crisis. While Greece generated a lot of noise, it is now seen as a sideshow. Greece's debt problems are already widely known and the ...</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>Italy has moved to centre stage in the eurozone debt crisis.<br />
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While Greece generated a lot of noise, it is now seen as a sideshow.<br />
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Greece's debt problems are already widely known and the immediate consequences of a Greek default largely anticipated.<br />
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Moreover, the size of the Greek economy is small enough that the direct damage, if Greece stopped paying its debts, should be quite manageable for the eurozone.<br />
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Instead, the big fear is "contagion" - that a Greek default could trigger a financial catastrophe for other, much bigger economies - in particular Italy and Spain.<br />
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And it seems it is Italy that is now seen as the lead candidate for that contagion. But why is this?<br />
Prudent Italy?<br />
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According to Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, "Italy has great economic strength, but Italy does also have a very high level of debt and that has to be reduced in a credible way in the years ahead."<br />
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As with Greece, she and other eurozone leaders believe the solution is more government austerity - spending cuts and tax rises - by Rome.<br />
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However, some economists might disagree with her assessment.<br />
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The Italian government's debt, at 118% of GDP (annual economic output) is certainly high, even by European standards.<br />
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But dig a little deeper, and the picture changes.<br />
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Unlike their counterparts in Spain or the Irish Republic, ordinary Italians have not run up huge mortgages, and generally have very little debt.<br />
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That means that according to the Bank of International Settlements Italy as a country - not just a government - is not actually terribly indebted compared with other big economies such as France, Canada or the UK.<br />
Continue reading the main story<br />
Crisis jargon buster<br />
Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of key financial terms:<br />
GDP<br />
GDP<br />
Gross domestic product. A measure of economic activity in a country, namely of all the services and goods produced in a year. There are three main ways of calculating GDP - through output, through income and through expenditure.<br />
Glossary in full<br />
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Moreover, the large debts of the Italian government are nothing new. It has got by just fine with a debt ratio over 100% of its GDP ever since 1991.</div>Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:56:11 GMTHarrisScarborough683http://beta.aalf.org/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:HarrisScarborough683