There are widely shared concerns about the extraordinary fiscal expansion necessitated by the crisis, and when and how long it will take to reverse that. But, by far the larger concern is not about the crisis related cyclical deficits but about the structural fiscal deficits looming large in most advanced economies.
Current estimates are that rich countries will see a rapid increase in their social security payment obligations because of ageing populations and shrinking workforces, and that they will need to raise significant amount of debt year-on-year to finance these commitments. If that be the case, monetary independence will remain circumscribed by fiscal compulsions into the medium term. 42.