James M. Buchanan and public debt: introducing a special issue of the Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice

The six articles in this special issue consider the political economy of debt financing in democratic societies. The entanglement of public debt decision making with classic questions in public choice, including social choice processes, the status of the majority, and the interplay of the complex set of incentives that motivate elected representatives, connects the articles in this issue. The first three articles approach Buchanan and public debt from a historical perspective, seeking to understand how and why Buchanan became interested in debt problems. The remaining three apply Buchanan’s logic to contemporary questions: optimal taxation theory; dependency theory and the ethical dimensions of debt default; and slavery reparations.