public finance,general government expenditures by function, cluster analysis, assessment, EU countries

Public expenditures in the European context are a condition for financing public needs and for the development of public services. For a more exact classification of public expenditures from the functional point of view, the classification of the functions of the government (COFOG) is used. According to this classification we can classify general government expenditures by ten categories that represent the functional areas of the government (state). Attention is paid to selected categories of general government expenditures by COFOG function, which contribute to the development and cultivation of the human potential.The paper aims to provide an evaluation of general government expenditures by selected function in EU countries, including their similarities and differences. More closely, the paper analyses and focuses on general government expenditures by selected function (social protection, health, education, culture and recreation) in EU countries, as an average of the period 2010-2015, using the methods of cluster analysis and box-plot. The results of the analysed general government expenditures by function showed similarities as well as differences between EU countries. The division of EU countries into three clusters showed that with respect to the amount of general government expenditures on health, education and culture and recreation as % of GDP, the most similar are the countries in the first cluster compared to the countries in the second cluster. By contrast, the largest differences regarding the volume of general government expenditures on social protection and health as % of GDP were found in the countries in the first cluster , compared to the countries in the third cluster. The structure of total general government expenditures by function as % of GDP proved that expenditures on social protection and health account for the most marked share in most EU countries.