The effects of the fall in the German public debt ratio
Germany has decided to conduct a restrictive fiscal policy which has led to a constant reduction in its public debt ratio. This reduction has very significant consequences: Germany has massive excess savings, which have unfortunately been lent to the rest of the world outside the euro zone; Excess demand for risk-free debt in euros has appeared, leading to a fall in the interest rates on this debt; The resulting low level of long-term interest rates has driven bond investors in the euro zone to switch to foreign-currency debt with a higher yield, especially in the United States; Faced with the fall in Germany's public debt, investors have inevitably been switching to French debt, which has enable d France to keep interest rates very low despite an expansionary fiscal policy.