In the eurozone, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, and Cyprus all had to restructure their sovereign debt to avoid outright default. Rising debt/GDP ratios cast a pall over fiscal policy, and became the main justification for austerity policies that prolonged the slump.
当然，爱尔兰政府的目的是拯救银行系统。但这场援助的意外后果是撼动了人们对政府偿债能力的信心。在欧元区，爱尔兰、希腊、葡萄牙和塞浦路斯都不得不重组主权债务以避免直接违约。升高的债务/GDP之比给财政政策加上了一道枷锁，也成为让经济探底长期化的紧缩政策的主要依据。