The cost of servicing debt. To an individual or business, this is what they have to pay in interest and redemption payments. In the case of government debt, it would appear that as what is paid from one set of citizens is received by another, the aggregate debt burden should be zero. This is subject to two objections: first, where the debt is held externally, payments to non-residents are a real burden on residents. This is increased for the country as a whole if the need for external debt service worsens the country's terms of trade. Even where debt is held by residents, it is usually impossible for the government to finance debt service except by the use of taxes which distort incentives, so that taxation reduces the real wealth of taxpayers by more than the amount the government receives. This deadweight burden of taxes arises from the existence of government debt, even if this is held by residents.

• multicollinearity
• Multi-Fibre Arrangement
• multilateralism
• multilateral trade
• multinational
• multi-plant firm
• multiple equilibrium
• multiple exchange rates
• multiple regression
• multiplier
• multiplier-accelerator model
• multi-product firm
• mutual fund
• NAFTA
• NAIRU
• name
• name at Lloyd's
• narrow-band ERM
• NASDAQ
• Nash equilibrium
• national accounts
• National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System
• National Bureau of Economic Research
• national debt
• National Economic Development Council