In turn, this results in lower capital accumulation, and therefore, ceteris paribus, in lower productivity and output per capita.
Empirical evidence suggests that countries whose level of national debt exceeds a certain threshold are also characterised by comparatively lower growth: Reinhart and Rogoff (2010), analysing a dataset which spans the last few centuries and comprises several dozen countries, show that, for those countries with a government debt-to-GDP ratio of over 90%,  16  See in particular Christiano et al. (1999).