[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-31253":3,"doc-seo-31253":26},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"file_id":15,"file_url":16,"file_type":17,"file_size":18,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":19,"is_downloadable":19,"audit_status":19,"page_count":20,"language":21,"table_of_contents":22,"faqs":23,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":24,"read_time":25},31253,687197207639,"Asher","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd",8,"Research & Report","Fiscal Consolidation and the Public Sector Balance Sheet in South Africa","Between 1994 and 2008, South Africa reduced the debt-to-GDP ratio from nearly 50% to 27%, but fixed capital-to-GDP fell sharply from 90% to 55%, leaving the government’s balance sheet weaker despite apparent fiscal sustainability. A similar pattern is noted for state-owned enterprises. After the Great Recession, public-debt pressure intensified toward 50%. To restore sustainability, the article proposes either cutting current expenditure to reduce debt to pre-crisis levels, or shifting toward infrastructure capital spending while stabilizing debt at post-crisis levels.","cbCaiqfpKKCm4gAP","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqfpKKCm4gAP","pdf",528277,1,19,"English","# Introduction\n# Fiscal consolidation plan and objectives\n## Fiscal reaction function and sustainability assessment\n## Data, estimation method, and results\n# Primary balance required for sustainability\n# Policy options after unsustainability","[{\"question\":\"How did South Africa’s debt ratio and fixed capital ratio change between 1994 and 2008?\",\"answer\":\"The debt-to-GDP ratio fell from nearly 50% to 27%, while the fixed capital-to-GDP ratio dropped from 90% to 55%, weakening the government’s balance sheet despite the improvement in debt metrics.\"},{\"question\":\"What changed in South Africa’s fiscal position after the Great Recession?\",\"answer\":\"Fiscal conditions deteriorated markedly, with the public debt ratio moving back toward 50%, indicating signs of unsustainability since 2010.\"},{\"question\":\"What two policy options does the article propose to restore fiscal sustainability?\",\"answer\":\"Option one is to create room for future countercyclical policy by cutting current expenditure and reducing the public-debt ratio to its pre-crisis level. Option two is to replace current expenditure with infrastructure capital spending while stabilising debt-to-GDP at its post-crisis level.\"}]",1779224535,48,{"code":4,"msg":27,"data":28},"ok",{"site_id":29,"language":30,"slug":31,"title":13,"keywords":32,"description":14,"schema_data":33,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":24},105,"en","fiscal-consolidation-and-the-public-sector-balance-sheet-in-south-africa","",{"@graph":34,"@context":84},[35,52,67],{"@type":36,"itemListElement":37},"BreadcrumbList",[38,42,46,49],{"item":39,"name":40,"@type":41,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":43,"name":44,"@type":41,"position":45},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":47,"name":12,"@type":41,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":50,"name":13,"@type":41,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/fiscal-consolidation-and-the-public-sector-balance-sheet-in-south-africa/31253/",4,{"url":50,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":39,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-05-21","2026-05-19",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"How did South Africa’s debt ratio and fixed capital ratio change between 1994 and 2008?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"The debt-to-GDP ratio fell from nearly 50% to 27%, while the fixed capital-to-GDP ratio dropped from 90% to 55%, weakening the government’s balance sheet despite the improvement in debt metrics.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"What changed in South Africa’s fiscal position after the Great Recession?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"Fiscal conditions deteriorated markedly, with the public debt ratio moving back toward 50%, indicating signs of unsustainability since 2010.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"What two policy options does the article propose to restore fiscal sustainability?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"Option one is to create room for future countercyclical policy by cutting current expenditure and reducing the public-debt ratio to its pre-crisis level. Option two is to replace current expenditure with infrastructure capital spending while stabilising debt-to-GDP at its post-crisis level.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":50,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":57,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":50},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":29}]