J. East China Norm. Univ. Philos. Soc. Sci ›› 2025, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (3): 147-162.doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5579.2025.03.014

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Debt Structure,Domestic Debt Chains,and Modern Economic Growth:Theoretical Logic Based on Debt-Credit Linkages Among Three Sectors and Four Entities

Xiaopeng Hu   

  • Accepted:2025-04-24 Online:2025-05-15 Published:2025-05-28

Abstract:

Domestic debt chains reshape economic dynamics through chain length (transmission hierarchy), chain breadth (scale of interconnected entities), and systemically critical nodes. The analysis of the debt-credit linkage matrix among governments, enterprises, households, and financial institutions reveals debt chains’ asymmetric impacts on economic equilibrium. During economic upswings, optimistic expectations stimulate growth by extending chain length and expanding chain breadth, yet under deep pessimism, broader chain breadth correlates with risk accumulation. In downturns, fiscal deficits mitigate recession but fail to resolve the “low growth-high interest rate” trap, while excessive debt expansion accelerates risks beyond output gains. This mechanism stems from the interaction between debt chains, economic cycles, and market expectations: debt chains amplify capital multipliers during expansions while transform into risk transmission channels during contractions. This study highlights the need to embed debt chain parameters and cyclical variables into national income models, constructing dynamic expectation functions with liquidity constraints and risk premiums to refine traditional consumption-investment theories and inform targeted macro-policy interventions.

Key words: debt structure, domestic debt chain, economic growth, expectation, economic cycles