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Assessing government spending in OECD countries and searching for savings

Author

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  • Sebastian Barnes
  • Boris Cournède
  • Fred Hanmer

Abstract

Government expenditures average around 40% of GDP across OECD countries. With advanced economies facing fiscal challenges - including large deficits, high debt and rising ageing, climate and defence costs and already high taxes - there is strong interest in understanding and managing public spending. This paper explores the composition and determinants of government spending across OECD countries. It uses the classification of functions of government (COFOG) to analyse government expenditure across 13 key spending categories over the period 1995-2019 for 28 OECD countries with a view to identifying countries with exceptionally high spending in specific areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian Barnes & Boris Cournède & Fred Hanmer, 2025. "Assessing government spending in OECD countries and searching for savings," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1845, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1845-en
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General
    • H60 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - General
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

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