00675nam a2200121Ia 450000500170000008000180001710000240003524500610005926000300012030000100015052003750016058300180053520260716043932.0 a11.01.01 W655 aWigger, Berthold U. aA note on public debt, tax-exempt bonds, and Ponzi games bIMFa[Washington]USc2007 a18 p. aDemonstrates that government can run a Ponzi game if the economy without public debt is dynamically efficient. This becomes possible when the return on private bonds or equity is taxed and the government issues tax-exempt bonds. Notes that unlike a traditional Ponzi game, the welfare effects of a Ponzi game based on the issuance of tax-exempt bonds are rather mixed. c3/19/09kJOYD