Hi there, I have a question about Public debt to GDP ratios, I hope this is the right place to post it. When calculating the ratio public debt/ GDP, does the GDP need to be annualized? So if the GDP was a quarterly figure it would be debt/ (GDP*4), as the debt is an ‘accumulative’ figure? You wouldnt simple divide quarterly debt/ quarterly GDP? I’m a new student to macroeconomics and I’m just trying to get the basics. Thanks.
Is the GDP quoted on an annualized basis or quarterly?
the GDP is released quarterly, yet the public debt figures can be weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. Yet am I correct in assuming that even if the debt data is weekly, it will still need to be divided by the annualized GDP figure to give the correct debt to GDP reading ‘across the board’?
Debt is a cumulative amount and is not divided by time period, unless it is a special report that mentions incremental debt or something.
thanks for the reply. So in reference to the original question, what is the correct form for calculating the debt to GDP ratio, using quarterly GDP figures and monthly Total Gross Public Debt releases?