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  • P-ISSN 2586-2995
  • E-ISSN 2586-4130
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KDI Journal of Economic Policy. Vol. 47, No. 3, August 2025, pp. 31-68

https://doi.org/10.23895/kdijep.2025.47.3.31

× KDI Open Access is a program of fully open access journals to facilitate the widest possible dissemination of high-quality research. All research articles published in KDI JEP are immediately, permanently and freely available online for everyone to read, download and share in terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

On the Effects of National Debt on the Distribution of Household Assets

SEUNG-RYONG SHIN

Author & Article History

Manuscript received 11 March 2025; revision received 11 March 2025; accepted 31 July 2025.

Abstract

This study examines the long-term effects of higher national debt in South Korea on asset distribution. Using an overlapping generations general equilibrium model, we focus on two key channels: rising interest rates and falling wage rates, both driven by the crowding-out effect of capital. Higher interest rates increase asset dispersion, benefiting older groups with more accumulated assets, while younger groups with fewer assets gain less. Falling wage rates reduce the capacity to save money across all age groups, partially offsetting the dispersion effects of higher interest rates. A simulation of a 50% increase in national debt reveals a decline in the Gini coefficient of asset holdings, driven by the diminishing marginal increase in future assets relative to current holdings. However, widening cross-sectional dispersion proved more welfare-relevant: older age groups, which experienced greater gains in average assets, saw increases in average welfare, whereas early life-cycle cohorts with low asset levels experienced welfare losses. Given this trade-off associated with higher national debt, initial asset transfers as a counteracting measure can enhance lifetime welfare overall, mitigate the rising asset dispersion, and improve the asset Gini coefficient.

Keywords

National Debt, Government Debt, Asset Inequality, Asset Distribution, General Equilibrium, OLG

JEL Code

E10, E20

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