A vital new examination of debt that looks at twelve questions to explore how the economics of the debt we are born, live and die with impacts us individually and the wider world around us.

BORROWED TIME:
How Debt Shapes Your Life and the World in 12 Questions
by Gerard Lyons
Reaktion Books, TBD 2027
(via Northbank Talent Management)

A succession of economic shocks have hit the world economy this century, from the global financial crisis in 2008 to the recent pandemic. This has led to a surge in debt and levels are now at all-time highs, in the public as well as the private sector.

By exploring debt through 12 questions that get to the heart of the modern economy, Gerard looks at how big picture macroeconomics relates to everyday lives via some of the most pressing topics of our time; from ageing populations in many industrialised countries, the financialisaton of Main Street over the last 40 years, who precisely should pay for student debt, could a major country such as the UK go bust, and do we have an environmental debt to the planet?

Gerard Lyons has been described by The Times as ‘one of the most influential analysts of the global economy’. He has over thirty years of experience in senior roles in the City and public policy. Gerard’s analysis of the global economy – particularly emerging economies across Asia, Africa and the Gulf and Middle East – has regularly been sought by policymakers, including politicians and central bankers both at home and abroad. He has spoken in 82 countries, testified to committees of the US Congress and Senate, and to committees in UK Parliament.