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Financial development and the composition of government expenditure: Theory and cross-country evidence

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  • Chen, Zhigang
  • Lv, Bingyang
  • Liu, Yongzheng

Abstract

This paper explores the effect of financial development on the composition of government expenditure. We establish an endogenous growth model to consider the role of financial development. We demonstrate that because of the efficiency loss induced by lower financial development, private investment is constrained and hence governments tend to spend on higher productive expenditure to maintain a certain economic growth rate. Relying on a large sample of 105 countries over 1984–2009, we find supporting evidence that countries with higher financial development tend to have lower productive expenditure. This result is robust across alternative measures of the key variables and alternative estimations with and without correcting the potential endogeneity issue of financial development.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Zhigang & Lv, Bingyang & Liu, Yongzheng, 2019. "Financial development and the composition of government expenditure: Theory and cross-country evidence," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 600-611.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:64:y:2019:i:c:p:600-611
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2019.09.006
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    Cited by:

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    3. Selvanathan, Eliyathamby A. & Selvanathan, Saroja & Jayasinghe, Maneka Savithri, 2021. "Revisiting Wagner’s and Keynesian’s propositions and the relationship between sectoral government expenditure and economic growth," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 355-370.
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    5. Căpraru, Bogdan & Georgescu, George & Sprincean, Nicu, 2022. "Do independent fiscal institutions cause better fiscal outcomes in the European Union?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(2).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial development; Productive expenditure; Cross-country;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures

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