RANK CORRELATION BETWEEN BUDGET DEFICIT AND PUBLIC DEBT LEVELS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES "THE SPEARMAN COEFFICIENT"

France’s 2025 budget crisis highlights tensions between fiscal discipline and democratic governance. This study examines the deficit-debt relationship across the EU, finding a strong correlation (ρ=0.77) that supports Keynesian debt dynamics but challenges Ricardian equivalence. Denmark’s low debt despite surpluses aligns with the Buchanan-Wagner hypothesis of institutional constraints. Methodologically, « Spearman’s ρ addresses non-parametric data needs, with 60% variance explained (Domar’s framework). Results contradict Woodford’s fiscal theory but support Alesina’s context-dependent consolidations and Feldstein’s twin deficits hypothesis, moderated by Mundell-Fleming constraints. Non-linear thresholds (Ghosh) and electoral cycle limitations (Drazen) suggest the need for flexible, country-specific EU fiscal rules. Keywords: Budget Deficit, Public Debt, Spearman Correlation, European Union, Stability and Growth Pact, Critical Thresholds