Government Size and Economic Growth concludes that, in every case, economic freedom is a crucial determinant of economic growth_suggesting that government intervention in the marketplace may be the wrong approach to solving the economic crisis.

This paper empirically examines the effects of different types of government expenditures, on economic growth in Saudi Arabia. We use different econometric techniques to estimate the short- and long-run effects of these expenditures on growth and employ annual data over the period 1969-2010. Our findings indicate that while private domestic and public investments, as well as healthcare expenditure, stimulate growth in the long-run, openness to trade and spending in the housing sector can also boost short-run production. These findings draw some policy implications for Saudi policymakers on maximizing the returns of the government spending on economic growth.

This book critically examines the optimum range and duration of government interventions in the economic activities of a modern state based on theoretical and empirical frameworks, and assesses their role and extent in various economies. With a special focus on emerging economies across the globe, it discusses themes such as income growth; social sector development; good governance and economic progress; threshold limits; optimum budget policy and economic growth; sustainable distributional managements in public projects; food for work programs; agricultural infrastructure development; technological progress and economic growth; and distributional equities. The policy suggestions provided here offer helpful blueprints for developmental projects. Rich in data and figures, the book addresses sector-specific case studies like healthcare; irrigation and agriculture; infrastructure; taxation and economic growth; and public sector enterprises. It will be an excellent read for scholars and researchers of economics, Indian economics, macroeconomics, political economy, public policy, political science and management, development studies, development economy and governance. It will also be useful to policymakers, administrative officials, and government and corporate bodies.

This paper examines the empirical evidence on the contribution that government and, in particular, capital expenditure make to the growth performance of a sample of developing countries. Using the Denison growth accounting approach, this study finds that social expenditures may have a significant impact on growth in the short run, but infrastructure expenditures may have little influence. While current expenditures for directly productive purposes may exert a positive influence, capital expenditure in these sectors appears to exert a negative influence. Experiments with other explanatory variables confirm the importance of the growth of exports to the overall growth rate.

Amidst the debates about ‘austerity’ a number of vital debates in public finance have been sidelined. Because the reductions in government spending – small though they have been so far- have been designed to reduce the government’s borrowing requirement, there has been little discussion of whether the size of the state should be reduced in order to facilitate long-run reductions in the burden of taxation. This book traces the history of the growth of the size of the state over the last 100 years whilst also making international comparisons. There is a particular focus on recent and projected future developments which shows that, though the total level of government spending has not decreased significantly in recent years, there has been a big redirection of spending from some areas to others. The authors then examine the evidence on the relationship between taxation and economic growth. As well as reviewing recent literature, they also undertake new modelling that higher taxes are detrimental for growth. In the final part of the book, the whole UK tax system is reconsidered in a proper economic framework. The UK has one of the world’s most complex tax systems and its incoherence has increased over the last five years. Sweeping reforms are proposed to the system which wold involve abolishing around 20 taxes and the development of a simple, predictable tax system based on principles that should gain wide acceptance.

China's Rural Economy after WTO discusses and analyses China's rural sector problems in detail, including the areas of poverty, income inequality, the gender gap, barriers of rural-urban migration, discrimination against rural workers, poor rural governance and the impact of WTO membership. It also tackles the important subjects of inadequate infrastructure and discriminatory credit services. Strategies to modernize China's rural economy are proposed and the relevant experiences and lessons of other countries are analyzed.

This paper develops an endogenous growth model of the influence of public investment, public transfers, and distortionary taxation on the rate of economic growth. The growth-enhancing effects of investment in public capital and transfer payments are modeled, as is the growth-inhibiting influence of the levying of distortionary taxes which are used to fund such expenditure. The theoretical implications of the model are then tested with data from 23 developed countries between 1971 and 1988, and time series cross sectional results are obtained which support the proposed influence of the public finance variables on economic growth.