7. Government expenditures in the times of financial crisis

The article is intended to study the role of the government and the dynamics of its expenditures during the period 1996-2011. Special attention is paid to the fiscal spending in the years of the current financial crisis in the EU countries and Bulgaria. The results show that in Bulgaria the government expenditures as a share of the GDP are the lowest in EU 27. At the same time the country is among those with the lowest level of deficit and debt as a share of the GDP. Therefore, it is possible for the government to increase them for a few years in order to support the national economy to overcome the consequences of the financial crisis.