Open Access Article SciPap-855
Public Expenditures in Areas of Public Sector: Analysis and Evaluation in EU Countries
by Martina Halásková 1,* iD icon and Renata Halásková 2 iD icon

1 Department of Public Economics, VŠB-Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Economics, Sokolská 33, Ostrava 702 00, Czechia

2 , College of Logistics, Palackého 1381/25, Přerov 1 750 02, Czechia

* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract: Public sector, representing a significant part of public economy, is considered one of its supporting pillars. The paper utilises financing of public sector (indicator of the percentage of public expenditures in GDP). It deals with the analysis and evaluation of public expenditures in EU countries according to selected COFOG functions, namely social protection, health, education, culture and recreation, in years 2005 and 2014. Also, three important proportions within total public expenditures are observed in terms of their structure. By means of multidimensional scaling, dissimilarities and similarities in the volume of allocated public resources in EU countries are evaluated with respect to COFOG functions (% of GDP in 2005 and 2014). Results showed that Scandinavian countries and France are among the countries with the best evaluation (most similar) with highest public expenditures. Conversely, Baltic states, Cyprus and Romania (most similar) comprise the second group of countries with the lowest public expenditures. These two sets of countries are least similar in the volume as well as structure of allocated public expenditures in the observed areas of public sector.

Keywords: COFOG, EU Countries, Multidimensional Scaling, Public Expenditures, Areas Of Public Sector

JEL classification:   H75 - State and Local Government: Health • Education • Welfare • Public Pensions,   H83 - Public Administration • Public Sector Accounting and Audits

SciPap 2017, 25(1), 855

Received: 1 September 2016 / Accepted: 20 March 2017 / Published: 12 April 2017