Public Finance in the V4 During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Magic Triangle of Public Finances

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to quantify changes in public finances in the countries of the Visegrad Group through the area of the magic triangle of public finances, with an emphasis on the years 2020 and 2021. Using mathematical and statistical methods, we found the absolute and relative primary values of the year-on-year changes in public revenues, public expenditures and public debt since 2016 and substituted in the formula for calculating the area of the magic triangle. We found that in the long term, the magic triangle in the Czech Republic and Poland shows the largest area. The disease of COVID-19 significantly affected the development of aggregate public finances, which was confirmed especially in 2020. In 2020, the area of the magic triangles decreased significantly from 44.8% (Hungary) to 60.2% (Poland). In 2021, all V4 countries will see an improvement in financial indicators and, at the same time, an increase in the area of the magic triangles of public finances, which signals the progress of the public finances situation.