World debt crisis looms behind Greek mess
With Europe locked in Greece-linked market mayhem, influential economists are now warning that a wider crisis of rising debts and ageing populations in advanced economies could be in store.
And it is not just Greece and some other vulnerable eurozone economies that are in trouble. Countries such as Britain and the United States are at risk too unless urgent action is taken to avert a major public finances crunch.
A recent working paper published by the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements, an organisation that groups together the world's top central banks, said the developed world has seen "an explosion of public debt."
"Drastic measures" are needed to slash this debt, said the authors of the report, including Stephen Cecchetti, chief economic adviser to the BIS, which often helps shape government economic policy years into the future.
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