02024cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF003796 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781451975703 1934-7456 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Ostry, Jonathan. Primary Surpluses and sustainable Debt Levels in Emerging Market Countries / Jonathan Ostry, Abdul Abiad. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2005. 1 online resource (19 pages) IMF Policy Discussion Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students This paper aims to put some constraints on the way primary surpluses are projected when making assessments of public debt sustainability. Projections should be tied either to the country's historical track record in generating surpluses-if the institutional and other factors accounting for this track record are expected to persist-or to some model that links primary surpluses to their fundamental determinants, either on the basis of constant institutions and policies or a credible reform program. History-based or model-based primary surplus projections provide a useful benchmark for judging the realism of fiscal forecasts underlying debt sustainability calculations. Together with information on future growth and interest rates, the primary surplus projections can be used to generate measures of overborrowing, and the magnitude of adjustment needed to return debt to a sustainable level. Mode of access: Internet Abiad, Abdul. IMF Policy Discussion Papers; Policy Discussion Paper ; No. 2005/006 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/003/2005/006/003.2005.issue-006-en.xml IMF e-Library