This paper uses data from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to empirically test Wagner's Law in explaining public expenditure growth in association with economic growth; and if this growth enhanced the public welfare. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has witnessed a marked increase in government expenditure. We use the Engle and Granger (E-G) two-step cointegration method to examine the relationship between government expenditure and economic growth. Out of the four model specifications that we have tested, two models indicate that a positive long run relationship exists between government expenditure and economic growth. However, the income elasticities are not large enough to suggest that the growth in government expenditure exceeds the growth in national income; only that upward pressure is exerted. Looking at available data it is clear that governmental expenditures from GDP expansions increased public welfare for Saudis over the test period.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (M. Carmen Guisan).
Related research
Keywords:
Find related papers by JEL classification: H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government O5 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: