Reducing the public debt ratio after the Second World War and today

OECD countries’ public debt ratios have now returned to post-World War II levels , so it is interesting to look at how the public debt ratio was reduced after World War II and how it is envisaged to be reduced today. The differences seem to be: The current use of central bank purchases of government bonds, i.e. monetisation of public debt ; The use of primary fiscal surpluses after the Second World War, which is unlikely today; The way in which nominal interest rates that are lower than nominal growth are obtained: after the Second World War, through inflation without any reaction from central banks; currently through very low nominal interest rates relative to nominal growth, but without inflation; The pace of reduction in the public debt ratio, which is now much slower in the absence of inflation and due to lasting public spending needs.