What Lessons from History? or How to Cope with Large Increases in Public Debt?

How have societies coped with large increases in public debt? in the European history of the last three centuries, these moments have occurred mainly during and after wars, with the notable exception of the end of the 19^th century and the end of the 20^th century. these increases have had contrasting consequences both in terms of macroeconomic consequences and in terms of the solutions implemented to reduce these debt bumps. a distinctive element between these 20^th century episodes and those of the 18^th and 19^th centuries was the use of financial engineering to smooth out the debt jumps, making it possible to « buy the time » necessary, in any post-war period, to restore macroeconomic equilibrium.