The lack of a strong sell-off in either the rand or local bonds has more to do with a conjunction of favourable international factors than with investors downplaying the possible negative consequences of a downgrade.
I would also like to stress that the adoption and implementation of structural reforms leading to a path of higher economic growth would make possible a stronger reduction of debt for a given fiscal effort.’’  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  But austerity has been questioned, also by the IMF: in some countries it even worsened the recession.