@techreport{NBERw2186,
 title = "New Directions in the Relationship Between Public and Private Debt",
 author = "Benjamin M. Friedman",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "2186",
 year = "1987",
 month = "August",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w2186",
 abstract = {Until the 1980s the outstanding indebtedness of government and private-sector borrowers in the United States exhibited sufficient negative covariation that total outstanding debt remained steady relative to nonfinancial economic activity. Three hypotheses -- one based on lenders' behavior, one on borrowers? behavior, and one on credit market institutional arrangements -- provide potential explanations for this phenomenon. Since 1980 the U.S. debt markets have departed from these previously prevailing patterns, however, as both government and private borrowing have risen sharply.},
}