We often hear about government debt in the headlines. Currently the UK government owes around £2.65 trillion, nearly 100% of UK GDP - the value of all the goods and services produced in the UK in a year.

How has the debt level grown? Should we aspire to reduce the debt? And do we need to worry about high debt to GDP ratios?

Joining us today to answer all these questions and more, is David Miles, Professor of Financial Economics at Imperial College Business School, a member of the OBR Budget Responsibility Committee and former member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England.

Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/articles/should-we...

00:00 - Introduction
02:15 - What is government debt?
4:10 - Government debt after WW2
7:30 - International comparison
10:15 - The cost of debt interest
15:20 - Quantitive easing
21:52 - How to bring the debt down
24:30 - Borrowing to invest
31:00 - Growth, productivity and debt
35:48 - Can the next government spend more?
39:29 - The role of the market
43:43 - Conclusion