Abstract
Economic crises place substantial pressure on public finances while simultaneously increasing the need for government intervention to protect households, firms, and essential public services. Fiscal sustainability is therefore not only a matter of maintaining manageable debt and deficit levels but also a condition for preserving the capacity of governments to respond effectively to future shocks. Against this background, the study develops a conceptual framework linking public finance sustainability with community resilience during periods of economic uncertainty. Particular attention is given to three interconnected dimensions: fiscal capacity, the effectiveness of fiscal intervention, and the social and distributional consequences of crisis-management measures. The discussion integrates evidence from the literature on fiscal multipliers, public debt, fiscal consolidation, public investment, inequality, and institutional quality. The analysis emphasizes that the effects of fiscal policy depend on economic conditions, the composition of government expenditure, institutional capacity, and the distribution of adjustment costs across households and communities. Public investment and well-targeted social protection can contribute to resilience when supported by adequate fiscal capacity, whereas poorly designed or excessively procyclical consolidation may weaken economic activity and exacerbate social vulnerabilities. The resulting framework highlights the need to consider fiscal sustainability and community resilience as complementary policy objectives rather than competing priorities. This perspective provides a basis for further empirical research on how fiscal capacity, expenditure composition, institutional quality, and distributional effects interact in shaping community resilience across countries and during different types of crises.
Cuvinte cheie
public finance sustainability
fiscal policy
public debt
fiscal multipliers
public investment
community resilience
inequality
institutional quality
economic crises
Istoric articol
Publicat
31.08.2026
Informații autori
Citare recomandată
Gabriela Dobrotă, Ionela Zdârcu, Daniela Popa, Nicoleta Dan (2026). Public Finance Sustainability and Community Resilience During Economic Crises: A Conceptual Framework. Constantin Brâncuși University of Târgu Jiu Economics Series, 2(1), 153–164. https://doi.org/10.65631/jes.4.2026.14
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