1. Under current public sector debt-issuance arrangements (where sovereign governments match their deficits with issues of debt), the government and the private domestic sector cannot simultaneously spend less than they earn.

2. The estimates provided by institutions such as the OECD and the IMF of the size of the automatic stabilisers are typically biased downwards.

3. Governments concerned with their public debt ratio should encourage growth because the ratio will fall once economic growth resumes.