Public finances from now on without secrets. First publication of this kind

The Institute of Finance has published a study “How does the state finance its activities? The public finance system from behind the scenes” by the Institute of Finance took place. This is a unique compendium of knowledge on the functioning of public finance.

What does fiscal policy essentially involve and how do public finances work? Is public debt inherently always bad for the economy? What are the effects of central bank ‘printing’ of money? Michał Ostrowski of the Institute of Finance answers these and other questions in his study. What is the purpose of the publication? Bringing everyone as close as possible to the mechanisms that govern public finances and dispelling some myths related to fiscal policy.

“One of the cornerstones of the mission of the Institute of Finance is education. We not only conduct a number of studies on current economic topics, but also aim at familiarising a broad audience with such issues. This is what our latest work serves. We have combined content value with an accessible format so that many difficult and often complicated issues become more comprehensible to all who reach for this publication”, says Łukasz Chrobak, Director of the Institute of Finance.

The study “How does the state finance its activities? The public finance system from behind the scenes” offers a detailed explanation of how the public finance sector functions as an interconnected system of vessels. It explains what role the state budget currently plays and characterises the specifics of public revenue and expenditure. All the information is contained in about a hundred pages. Despite its academic nature and numerous references to various sources, it is written in simple language and the explanation of the various terms is clear and without overly academic jargon.

The author of the study, Michał Ostrowski, is a law graduate of the University of Wrocław and an employee of the Institute of Finance. As he emphasises, the aim was to create an accessible book that would enable everyone to better understand the structure of public finances and easily grasp the reality around us.

“Fiscal policy inevitably shapes much of our lives. It is essential for the provision of many public goods such as education or healthcare. Each of us repeatedly hears terms such as ‘budget’, ‘deficit’ or, especially in recent times, ‘inflation’. But we often do not know what these problems are and where they come from. Our publication is an easy-to-swallow pill of knowledge for those who would like to increase their awareness of public finances”, commented the author.

Link to the study: study to download. Publication in Polish