The Public Sector in the Czech Republic in Light of the Public Choice Theory

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss pros and cons of the current ways how the role of government in the society is analysed. In our analysis, macroeconomic aggregates provided by the satellite accounts of the public sector are used as an alternative analytical tool. This data supposedly better reflects the existing range of government activities as all government controlled entities are covered. Relevant time series by the Czech Statistical Office were prolonged making the analysis of long-term trends in the public sector size possible. The results are discussed against the theoretical background of the public choice theory. It was found out that there was an obvious bias to the deficit-driven provision of the public goods reflected concurrently in the growing indebtedness. On the other hand, the share of total revenues and expenditures remains rather stable over time.

Keywords

• Public sector
• government
• national accounts
• public choice