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Government growth in the twenty-first century

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Author Info
Randall Holcombe ()

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Abstract

Public choice explanations of government growth fall into three main categories: budget-maximization theories, rational-choice models, and path-dependent models like the “ratchet hypothesis”. The strengths and weaknesses of these theories as explanations for government growth are considered along with some facts about the actual growth of government to conjecture about its trajectory in the twenty-first century. Government size seems to have been constrained in the past primarily by its ability to raise revenue. Growth rates in the new century thus appear to depend on factors constraining government’s ability to continue to expand the tax base. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2005

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File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11127-005-4748-x
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal Public Choice.

Volume (Year): 124 (2005)
Issue (Month): 1 (July)
Pages: 95-114
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Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:124:y:2005:i:1:p:95-114

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  1. Becker, Gary S & Mulligan, Casey B, 2003. "Deadweight Costs and the Size of Government," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(2), pages 293-340, October.
    Other versions:
  2. Peltzman, Sam, 1980. "The Growth of Government," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(2), pages 209-87, October.
    Other versions:
  3. Persson, Torsten & Tabellini, Guido, 1999. "The Size and Scope of Government: Comparative Politics With Rational Politicians," CEPR Discussion Papers 2051, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Daniel Kahneman, 2003. "Maps of Bounded Rationality: Psychology for Behavioral Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(5), pages 1449-1475, December. [Downloadable!]
  5. Randall G. Holcombe & Donald J. Lacombe, 2004. "Factors Underlying the Growth of Local Government in the 19th Century United States," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 120(3_4), pages 359-377, 09. [Downloadable!]
  6. Bergstrom, Theodore C & Goodman, Robert P, 1973. "Private Demands for Public Goods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(3), pages 280-96, June.
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  7. Meltzer, Allan H & Richard, Scott F, 1981. "A Rational Theory of the Size of Government," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(5), pages 914-27, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Mirrlees, James A, 1971. "An Exploration in the Theory of Optimum Income Taxation," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(114), pages 175-208, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Richard A. Posner, 1971. "Taxation by Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 22-50, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. John R. Lott & Jr. & Lawrence W. Kenny, 1999. "Did Women's Suffrage Change the Size and Scope of Government?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(6), pages 1163-1198, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Holcombe, Randall G. & Lacombe, Donald J., 2001. "The Growth Of Local Government In The United States From 1820 To 1870," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(01), pages 184-189, March. [Downloadable!]
  12. Niskanen, William A, 1975. "Bureaucrats and Politicians," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(3), pages 617-43, December.
  13. Friedman, David, 1977. "A Theory of the Size and Shape of Nations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(1), pages 59-77, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Caplan, Bryan, 2001. " Rational Irrationality and the Microfoundations of Political Failure," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 107(3-4), pages 311-31, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Wittman, Donald, 1989. "Why Democracies Produce Efficient Results," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(6), pages 1395-1424, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Barlow, Robin, 1970. "Efficiency Aspects of Local School Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(5), pages 1028-40, Sept.-Oct. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Becker, Gary S, 1983. "A Theory of Competition among Pressure Groups for Political Influence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 98(3), pages 371-400, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Stanley L. Winer & Michael W. Tofias & Bernard Grofman & John H. Aldrich, . "Is it Economics or Politics? Trending Economic Factors and the Structure of Congress in the Growth of Government, 1930-2002," Carleton Economic Papers 07-04, Carleton University, Department of Economics, revised 28 Apr 2007. [Downloadable!]
  2. Thomas A. Garrett & Russell M. Rhine, 2008. "Institutions and government growth: a comparison of the 1890s and the 1930s," Working Papers 2008-020, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. [Downloadable!]
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