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CHAPTER1.PRACTICALDIMENSIONOFRESEARCHONPUBLICFINANCES
operationsinrelationtobanks,insurancecompaniesandotherfinancialinstitutions0
Theseactivitiesexploitedpublicfinanceonalargescale0Asaresult,publicfinances
crashed,sincethebudgetdeficitfromaround2%ofGDPin2007jumpedtoaround
5%ofGDPin2008andtoaround10%ofGDPin2009–20100Inthenexttwoyears,
thebudgetdeficitwasalsomaintainedatahighlevel,withamorepronouncedfall
in2014–2015(toaround5%ofGDP)andfinallydowntothereferencevalueof3%
ofGDP
0From2007,thepublicdebtoftheUnitedKingdomincreasedbyleapsand
boundsinrelationtoGDPfrom42%ofGDPin2006to85–86%ofGDPin2012–20130
TherateofgrowthinpublicdebtintheUnitedKingdomhassloweddownonlyinthe
lastthreeyears,butin2016thelevelofdebtinrelationtoGDPreached90%(Annex)0
TheUnitedKingdomisimportantasacasestudybecausethestatehasbeenpur
-
suinganactivepolicyofdisciplining(rescuing)publicfinances0Thecountrywasone
oftheclearestexamplesofthepolicyofcutsinbudgetexpenditure,althoughthestate
alsoshowedinitiativeontherevenuesidebychangingVATrates0Theanalysisoffiscal
consolidationoftheUKdeservesattentionalsobecausealthoughin2009therewas
anabsolutefallinproduction(GDP)byover4%,butinthefollowingyearstheUK
returnedtothepathofeconomicgrowth0TheUKunemploymentrateinthecrisishas
increased,althoughrelativelyslightly,ifcomparedwithothercountriessuchasSpain
andItaly,butitwasaccompaniedbyasharpcollapseofpublicfinancesasaresultof
rescueoperationswithinthefinancialsector0Withoutanticipatingtheconclusionfrom
Britishexperience,itcanbeinferredthattheUnitedKingdomisaclinicalexampleof
acountryinwhichtheproblemofrescuingpublicfinancesasaresultofthefinancial
crisisappearedinfullseverity0
ThecaseoftheUnitedKingdomisthebasisfortheassessmentoffiscalpolicy
(consolidation)inasituationwherethemedium-termbudgetaryobjective(MTO)
wasnotapplied,despitetheEuropeanUnion’srecommendations0
Itshouldbeadded,forformalreasonsthatthechoiceoftheUK,asacountry
examinedinthecaseanalysis,wasmadeseveralyearsearlierthanthedecisiononthe
exitfromtheEuropeanUnion(2016)wasannounced0Undoubtedly,thisdecisionnow
putstheissueofEuropeanUnionintegrationinadifferentperspective,butitdoes
notdiminishthesignificanceoftheresultsofresearchintothecausesofthecollapse
ofpublicfinancesofthiscountry,themeasurestakentorescuethemandmethods
offiscalconsolidation0
TheobservationandanalysisofHungary,whichjoinedtheEUin2004,wasde-
terminedbythefactthatthecountryunderwentaperiodofpoliticaltransformation
anddoesnotbelongtotheeuroarea0Formally,byjoiningtheEuropeanUnion,Hun-
garycommittedtoadoptingtheeuro,buttheauthorsoftheresearch,whendeciding
tochoosethiscountryforin-depthcase-basedanalysis,assumedrealisticallythatthe
prospectofHungaryfortheMonetaryUnionremainsfar-flung0Thereweremany
otherimportantreasonsforspecialinterestinHungarywhenexaminingthemethods
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