The structure and financial dimensions of public administration in EU countries

Abstract

Various traditional trends and roles of public administration can be traced across the European Union member states. These countries, however, are obliged to abide by common administrative and legal principles of the European administrative area. This paper focuses on the structure and differentiation of public administration in EU (28) countries, levels of local government and internal division of administrative structures, using the ESA methodology and a comparison of expenditures made by public administration in 2003, 2009 and 2013. The fi scal aspect of public administration is evaluated also through fi scal decentralization (revenues, expenditures). Cluster analysis is used for the comparison of selected areas of public expenditures according to the levels of public administration, showing that EU (28) countries can be divided into three clusters. The most signifi cant differences in public expenditures according to levels of public administration were observed in EU countries in the fi rst and third cluster, where fi scal decentralization of expenditures constitutes the most notable difference. The smallest differences in all clusters are perceived in total general government expenditures as % of GDP.