Source: Conference Board Total Economy Database, Statistics New Zealand  BIS central bankers’ speeches  11  Prospects for lower debt ratios Some of the big historical swings in domestic and external debt ratios New Zealand has experienced were highlighted earlier. There is nothing self-evidently permanent about the sorts of debt ratios we and other countries have seen in recent years.
Indeed, there is good reason to think that over time debt to income ratios will fall back somewhat. But no one has a good sense of when or how much. History and theory offer no more than tentative pointers. For now, it is sobering that across whole economies, including New Zealand, debt to income ratios have still been edging up.