The International Monetary Fund (IMF) held its first Inaugural Richard Goode Lecture at its headquarters in Washington DC on December 2, 2015. The Richard Goode Lecture was envisioned as an annual event to anticipate and discuss policy issues and debates. The theme of conference was "A History of U.S. Debt Limits" presented by Professor Thomas J. Sargent. The topic was focused about Congress first imposed an aggregate debt limit in 1939 when it delegated decisions about designing US debt instruments to the Treasury. Before World War I, Congress designed each bond and specified a maximum amount of each bond that the Treasury could issue. It usually specified purposes for which proceeds could be spent. The Report constructed and interpreted a Federal debt limit before 1939 […]