Abstract
Recent empirical studies have revealed that the size of government is inversely related to economic growth and technical efficiency. Evidence is presented linking the size of government to reported unemployment rates for the industrial countries during recent years. This finding helps to explain the empirical link between government size and poor macroeconomic performance.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barro, R.J. (1991). Economic growth in a crosssection of countries. Quarterly Journal of Economics 51: 407–443.
Feldstein, M. and Poterba, J. (1984). Unemployment insurance and reservation wages. Journal of Public Economics 23: 141–167.
OECD. (1996). Historical statistics 1960–1994. Paris: OECD.
Posner, R.A. (1971). Taxation by regulation. The Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science 2: 22–49.
Razzolini, L. and Shughart, II, W.F. (1997). On the (relative) unimportance of a balanced budget. Public Choice 90: 215–233.
Rosen, S. (1996). Public employment and the welfare state in Sweden. Journal of Economic Literature 34: 729–740.
Scully, G.W. (1989). The size of the state, economic growth and the efficient utilization of national resources. Public Choice 63: 149–164.
Scully, G.W. (1995). The “growth tax” in the United States. Public Choice 85: 71–80.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Abrams, B.A. The effect of government size on the unemployment rate. Public Choice 99, 395–401 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018349411246
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018349411246