Tanzi, Vito2016-07-052016-07-052016Tanzi, Vito .2016. "Pleasant dreams or nightmares, in the public debts scenarios? ". Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão. DE Working papers nº 10-2016/DE2183-1815http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/11714This paper has dealt with the rise of public debt in recent years in industrial countries and with the push on the part of some vocal economists, both in academia and in some international institutions, to increase public spending and to abandon what they call “austerity”, in the belief that this policy will promote growth, and not just at best a potential, short run increase in output at the cost of financial difficulties in the future. The paper has discussed how, over the long run, attitudes vis -a -vis public borrowing changed and became more relaxed; and how some economists came to see higher public debt as almost a kind of miracle cure that would increase economic growth, not just in the short run but also in the long run, through highly questionable channels. The paper has provided some data that indicate how much the public debts have become a current and future problem and has warned against letting public debt rise even more.engEconomic PolicyPublic DebtFiscal PolicyUncertaintlyworking paper