Comparison of the evolution of public budgets in the Czech Republic in individual policy cycles between 1993 and 2020 and the impact of external shocks on public finances

The thesis deals with the analysis of the development of the management of the decile sphere by public budgets with a focus on the state budget, which constitutes the majority of the public budget, in the Czech Republic. The period covered by the thesis starts in 1993 and ends in 2020. The period is divided according to the different political cycles that have alternated in the Czech Republic. The key objective of the research is to observe the rationality in budget management. A secondary objective is to analyse the forecasts that the Ministry of Finance makes. The topic is topical given the current state of public finances. The high accumulated deficit of the state budget, which will have to be repaid in the future, is very alarming. The theoretical part of the thesis, besides defining the basic parameters of public finances and the state budget, is also important for the theory of the political-economic cycle and the approach to fiscal imbalances. The literature search carried out shows that the government's relationship with the government budget deficit has changed significantly over the course of the 20th century and debt has become a common feature of advanced economies with few exceptions. Part of the explanation for this phenomenon is the pursuit of opportunistic goals by political leaders, highlighted in a comprehensive form by the public choice school, which has changed the paradigm of how politicians are viewed. The practical part of the thesis analyses individual state budgets by political cycle and the thesis concludes that, with few exceptions, politicians have not managed the resources entrusted to them rationally.