Structure and Evolution of Public Budgets in the EU Countries

Area 13 – Scienze economiche e statistiche

This work offers an overview of the evolution of the level and the structure of the government sector of the European Union countries. The aim is not to identify the causes and the consequences of the changes of the public sector in the various countries, but rather to illustrate the common characteristics and the main differences that still exist among the eu countries. Government sector is considered from two points of view. On the one hand the long run trends that have characterized the public sector from 1970 onwards are illustrated. On the other hand, by building some indicators of the Cyclically Adjusted Budget Balances, discretionary changes in revenues and in expenditures are disentangled from those changes that can be attributed to the business cycle.Furio Camillo Rosati and Beniamino Quintieri are professors at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. Cristiana Argentino collaborate with the same faculty.

SINTESI