The consequences of public debt for the security of public finance

Abstract

The issues of public debt have been, are, and will continue to be relevant. This issue is widely discussed in literature on economics, finance, and law. However, its complexity and unpredictable events affecting the state of public finance necessitate the ongoing update of the existing knowledge in this area. The aim of this article is to discuss the problem of public debt in Poland in the years 2000–2023, the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on its aggregation under the aid measures taken by the public authorities, and to show possible solutions to improve the situation in this area. The article puts forward a thesis that high public debt can be a threat to the security of public finance. The article has utilized a descriptive method, analyzed literature on the subject, legal acts, and conducted an analysis of statistical data from reliable sources. Moreover, certain measures have been proposed, including a return to the previous statutory threshold for the formation of the public debt/GDP ratio, standardization of the method of calculating public debt, a revision of public expenditures (e.g., de-indexation of expenditures or the ‘golden expenditure rule’), and the preparation of a realistic debt reduction programme. These issues require further indepth research. The article consists of the following: a short description of the phenomenon being described, legal acts in the area of public debt in Poland, the subject literature analysis on the public debt since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the possibilities of the influence of the high level of public debt on the country’s insolvency or even its default, referring to theoretical aspects of public finance security, the current state of affairs in terms of public debt and the outlook for its increase, the proposed changes and finally, the conclusion.The issues of public debt have been, are, and will continue to be relevant. This issue is widely discussed in literature on economics, finance, and law. However, its complexity and unpredictable events affecting the state of public finance necessitate the ongoing update of the existing knowledge in this area. The aim of this article is to discuss the problem of public debt in Poland in the years 2000–2023, the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on its aggregation under the aid measures taken by the public authorities, and to show possible solutions to improve the situation in this area. The article puts forward a thesis that high public debt can be a threat to the security of public finance. The article has utilized a descriptive method, analyzed literature on the subject, legal acts, and conducted an analysis of statistical data from reliable sources. Moreover, certain measures have been proposed, including a return to the previous statutory threshold for the formation of the public debt/GDP ratio, standardization of the method of calculating public debt, a revision of public expenditures (e.g., de-indexation of expenditures or the ‘golden expenditure rule’), and the preparation of a realistic debt reduction programme. These issues require further indepth research. The article consists of the following: a short description of the phenomenon being described, legal acts in the area of public debt in Poland, the subject literature analysis on the public debt since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the possibilities of the influence of the high level of public debt on the country’s insolvency or even its default, referring to theoretical aspects of public finance security, the current state of affairs in terms of public debt and the outlook for its increase, the proposed changes and finally, the conclusion.