The timely overestimation of Spanish GDP in the great recession
研究发现2007-2013年西班牙GDP被高估17%-18%,这种高估降低了主权风险溢价,节省了利息支出,但暴露了市场信息不完全和欧元制度缺陷。
Abstract The inefficient institutional design of the Euro allowed guaranteed bank liabilities to be converted into government debt, deepening the Great-Recession in Southern European countries. A recessive feedback process occurred through an increase in sovereign debt risk premiums in a cycle of global risk aversion. However, there was one fact that limited these negative effects. We refer to the overestimation of Spanish gross domestic product (GDP) in the public accounts for the period 2007–2013. We quantified the unexplained overestimation of Spain’s GDP for the period 2007–2013 using three different methodologies, which leads us to a similar conclusion: Spain’s GDP was overestimated by between 17% and 18%. We demonstrate that this overestimation allowed for significant savings in interest payments through a lower risk premium. This overestimation, unknown to investors, shows that markets are not efficient, and that information is incomplete. It is necessary to understand the role of debt under Hyman Minsky financial instability hypothesis.