The world is in debt. From developed economies to developing ones, public debt has reached a historic level—and along with it, the burden of servicing these loans. In 2024, the US, for the first time, spent more on debt servicing than on the military. The UK is in a situation popularly termed a “debt death spiral”. At the World Economic Forum held in January in Davos, Switzerland, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube spoke of his country’s debt crisis: “We’ve even got a tax now on fast food. If you’re buying tacos or pizza or something, you pay an extra fee.” He was referring to the extreme measures the government is taking to service its high debt levels.
Gita Gopinath, deputy chief of the International Monetary…
