EU Countries, evaluate, government expenditure, services

Public expenditures constitute comprehensive financial means expended by government of a respective state for the purpose of selected areas of the public sector. The paper aims to evaluate government expenditures on services in EU countries with emphasis on similarities and differences and in relation to selected socio-economic indicators. Government expenditures on selected services are evaluated by means of cluster and correlation analysis. The research was carried out in the period 2008-2017 for 28 EU countries. The results of the cluster analysis showed a similar volume and structure of government expenditure between the countries, in particular on recreation and culture (countries in the first and third cluster), but also marked differences between government expenditures on social protection and health between the countries in the first cluster, with a high economic level, and the countries in the second cluster, with a lower economic level. Using correlation analysis, the relation between government expenditure on services and selected socioeconomic indicators was statistically tested. The results showed a negative relation between government expenditures (on social protection, health, education, recreation and culture) and social exclusion and income inequality, but a positive relation between government expenditure on (social protection, health, education) and socioeconomic development evaluated by the Human development index.