There are many indicators of government debt sustainability. Cyclically-adjusted balances are useful for assessing long-run viability of budgets. For South Africa, these remained in negative territory following the onset of the global financial crisis (GFC), suggesting fiscal policy remained easy even as the economy recovered and excess capacity was eliminated. Fiscal sustainability gaps measure whether the fiscal position is adding to the stock of government debt. For South Africa, like China, Brazil and India, fiscal deficits have been adding meaningfully to debt since the GFC.
