'States respond to the cost of debt, not to debt itself'

Maxime Menuet, professor at Université Côte d'Azur and instructor at Sciences Po. ERIC DURAND/PHARMACEUTIQUES

Maxime Menuet is one of three economists, not including the winner, selected by the jury of the 2026 Best Young Economist Award, which brings together representatives from Le Cercle des économistes and Le Monde. The award recognizes work that contributes to the creation of more peaceful societies that are able to meet contemporary challenges.

Your area of expertise is public debt. Why did you first become interested in this subject?

When I completed my dissertation in the early 2000s, the topic was not particularly prominent among economists. In classical economic thought, government expenditures are what matters. By contrast, whether these expenses are funded by taxes or by debt is simply seen as a question of timing, since debt is essentially deferred taxation.

Yet religions talk a lot about debt – another subject that you have studied.