Government Debt : Why Has the Government Debt Increased? An Analysis of What Factors Influence the Long-Term Interest Rate?

Abstract: This paper analyzes what factors influence the long-term interest rate, in order to give an understanding of why the government debt has increased in EU member states. It is a statistical study of panel data analyzed by the fixed effect model. The research of the 27 EU member states is based on secondary data from the European Commission; Eurostat and EconStats. The results by the fixed effect model show that government debt, budget deficit and presidential system are significant and have a positive relationship with the long- term interest rate. The growth rate is significant, having a negative relationship with the long-term interest rate and the financial crisis did not increase the long-term interest rate. The results were not entirely consistent with theories and previous studies.