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Growth Effects of Government Expenditure and Taxation in Rich Countries: A Comment

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Author Info
Agell, Jonas () (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University)
Ohlsson, Henry () (Dep. of Economics, Uppsala University)
Skogman Thoursie, Peter () (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University)

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Abstract

In a recent article Stefan Fölster and Magnus Henrekson [2001] argue that “…the more the econometric problems that are addressed, the more robust the relationship between government size and economic growth appears”. But in failing to control for simultaneity in a valid manner the regressions reported by Fölster/Henrekson are flawed. Moreover, using theoretically valid instruments we find that the estimated partial correlation between size of the public sector and economic growth is statistically insignificant and highly unstable across specifications. A policy-maker who wants to promote growth is well-advised to look for other evidence than cross-country growth regressions.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Stockholm University, Department of Economics in its series Research Papers in Economics with number 2003:14.

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Length: 13 pages
Date of creation: 06 Nov 2003
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Handle: RePEc:hhs:sunrpe:2003_0014

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Related research
Keywords: Economic growth; public sector; cross-country regressions; panel regressions;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy
H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
O57 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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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.:
  1. N. Gregory Mankiw, 1995. "The Growth of Nations," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1732, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
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  2. Joel Slemrod, 1995. "Involvement, Prosperity, and Economic Growth?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 26(1995-2), pages 373-431. [Downloadable!]
  3. Jonathan Temple, 1999. "The New Growth Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 112-156, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Agell, J. & Lindh, T. & Ohlsson, H., 1999. "Growth and the Public Sector: a Reply," Papers 1999:1, Uppsala - Working Paper Series.
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  5. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
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  6. Agell, Jonas & Lindh, Thomas & Ohlsson, Henry, 1997. "Growth and the public sector: A critical review essay," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 33-52, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Folster, Stefan & Henrekson, Magnus, 2001. "Growth effects of government expenditure and taxation in rich countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1501-1520, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Folster, Stefan & Henrekson, Magnus, 1999. "Growth and the public sector: a critique of the critics," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 337-358, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Baltagi, Badi H. & Boozer, Michael A., 1997. "Econometric Analysis of Panel Data," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(05), pages 747-754, October. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, 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.)

  1. Pavlos Petroulas, 2007. "Short -Term Capital Flows and Growth in Developed and Emerging Markets," Working Papers 60, Bank of Greece. [Downloadable!]
  2. António Afonso & Juan González Alegre, 2008. "Economic growth and budgetary components - a panel assessment for the EU," Working Paper Series 848, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Falch, Torberg & Fischer, Justina AV, 2008. "Does a generous welfare state crowd out student effort? Panel data evidence from international student tests," Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 694, Stockholm School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Konstantinos Angelopoulos & Apostolis Philippopoulos & Efthymios Tsionas, 2008. "Does public sector efficiency matter? Revisiting the relation between fiscal size and economic growth in a world sample," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 245-278, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Christoph A. Schaltegger & Benno Torgler, 2006. "Growth effects of public expenditure on the state and local level: evidence from a sample of rich governments," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 38(10), pages 1181-1192, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Torberg Falch & Justina A.V. Fischer, 2008. "Does a Generous Welfare State Crowd out Student Achievement? Panel Data Evidence from International Student Tests," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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