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The growth of government in Italy: Evidence from 1861 to 1979

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  • Michele Fratianni
  • Franco Spinelli

Abstract

That the public sector has grown both in absolute terms and relative to the rest of the economy is an undisputable fact. That both growth rates have accelerated in recent history is also an unchallenged fact. More cautious must we be about why these trends have occurred and are persisting. We have tested three partially competing theories of government growth using Italian annual data from 1861 to 1979 and assessed that the redistribution model explains the facts better than either the public goods model or the specialized-interest hypothesis, although the latter tells the most convincing story about the causes underlying transfers to firms. We have also tried to discriminate between two competing views of a politician: the value-free intermediary found in the median voter literature and the entrepreneur emphasized in the theory of agency costs. The bits of evidence we gathered are more consistent with a politician-entrepreneur than a politician-intermediary. Copyright Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 1982

Suggested Citation

  • Michele Fratianni & Franco Spinelli, 1982. "The growth of government in Italy: Evidence from 1861 to 1979," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 221-243, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:39:y:1982:i:2:p:221-243
    DOI: 10.1007/BF00162116
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. G. Warren Nutter, 1978. "Growth of Government in the West," Books, American Enterprise Institute, number 925130, September.
    2. Harold Demsetz, 1979. "The Growth of Government," UCLA Economics Working Papers 157, UCLA Department of Economics.
    3. Peltzman, Sam, 1980. "The Growth of Government," Working Papers 1, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    4. William H. Meckling, 1976. "Values and the Choice of the Model of the Individual in the Social Sciences," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 112(IV), pages 545-560, December.
    5. repec:bla:scandj:v:81:y:1979:i:2:p:308-22 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Brunner, Karl & Meckling, William H, 1977. "The Perception of Man and the Conception of Government," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 9(1), pages 70-85, February.
    7. Peltzman, Sam, 1980. "The Growth of Government," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(2), pages 209-287, October.
    8. Durbin, J, 1970. "Testing for Serial Correlation in Least-Squares Regression When Some of the Regressors are Lagged Dependent Variables," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 38(3), pages 410-421, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michele Fratianni, 2012. "150 years of Italian political unity and economic dualism: An Introduction," Rivista italiana degli economisti, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 335-346.
    2. Dennis Mueller & Peter Murrell, 1986. "Interest groups and the size of government," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 125-145, January.
    3. Nadia Fiorino & Roberto Ricciuti, 2009. "Interest Groups and Government Spending in Italy, 1876-1913," CESifo Working Paper Series 2722, CESifo.
    4. Nadia Fiorino & Roberto Ricciuti, 2008. "Interest Groups, Government Spending and Italian Industrial Growth (1876-1913)," RSCAS Working Papers 2008/08, European University Institute.
    5. I. Abedian & B. Standish, 1984. "An Analysis of the Sources of Growth in State Expenditure in South Africa 1920–1982," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 52(4), pages 256-267, December.
    6. Giacomo Di Foggia & Ugo Arrigo, 2015. "The scope of public organisations with productive functions: insights from the inefficiency of Italian local public transport," European Journal of Government and Economics, Europa Grande, vol. 4(2), pages 134-154, December.
    7. Magnus Henrekson & Johan Lybeck, 1988. "Explaining the growth of government in Sweden: A disequilibrium approach," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 213-232, June.

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