Annals of the University of Oradea: Economic Science (Dec 2020)
THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS ON PUBLIC FINANCES COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS CRISIS
Abstract
The start of a crisis, whether it is a financial, health, or any other crisis, is a negative macroeconomic phenomenon, with consequences for both the entire world and the European Union. The coronavirus epidemic manifested itself in European countries in the spring of 2020, leading to the emergence of economic imbalances amid slowing and shrinking economic activity. The measures taken by European states are unprecedented compared to those adopted in the previous crisis, ranging from financial support to individuals and legal entities, deferral of taxes and other debts, legislative changes, and the acceptance of work from home in more and more branches activity, which until this period was not possible. This paper aims to study and analyze the evolution of public debt and budget deficit in the European Union, but also the measures taken by the Member States in the context of COVID-19 compared to those during the financial crisis in 2009. In addition to this analysis, in this paper, I intend to identify the growth rate of public debt in the Member States in 2009/2008 compared to 2020/2019. To compile this paper, I will use statistical data taken from the Eurostat website on public debt and budget deficit, but also data taken from the European Commission`s AMECO database, section “Economic and Financial Affairs” which includes forecasts on public debt for the year 2020. Regarding the research method used, it consists of both descriptive analysis, dynamic macroeconomic analysis using graphs, and comparative analysis according to the objectives pursued throughout the research. Comparing with the way the information is presented in the bibliography used and found at the end of the paper, in this paper are found only the essential aspects, the particularities of the chosen research topic, which finally provides the overview.
