IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rss/jnljef/v3i2p1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Government Size and Economic Growth in Italy: An Empirical Analyses Based On New Data (1861-2008)

Author

Listed:
  • Cosimo Magazzino

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to empirically assess the relationship between government size and economic growth. Using time series methodologies applied to annual data for Italy, the effect public expenditure, unemployment and fiscal reforms on economic activity have been analysed. The data used in these analyses have been collected and shown in Forte (2011), and they cover the very long-period 1861-2011. Our results show the presence of a non-linear relationship between the size of public sector (measured by the share of government expenditure over GDP) and the economic growth rate for Italy. In general, the presence of an inverted “U-shape†curve emerges for the last two decades, suggesting that expenditure cuts might faster GDP dynamic. This result is in line with recent empirical literature about this issue. Interestingly, for the monarchic years, it has been found that the zero budget constraint provoked a slower aggregate income variation.

Suggested Citation

  • Cosimo Magazzino, 2014. "Government Size and Economic Growth in Italy: An Empirical Analyses Based On New Data (1861-2008)," International Journal of Empirical Finance, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 3(2), pages 38-54.
    • Handle: RePEc:rss:jnljef:v3i2p1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://rassweb.org/admin/pages/ResearchPapers/Paper%201_1497044350.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fabrizio Balassone & Maura Francese & Angelo Pace, 2011. "Public Debt and Economic Growth in Italy," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 11, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    2. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "A Cross-Country Study of Growth, Saving, and Government," NBER Chapters, in: National Saving and Economic Performance, pages 271-304, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Shanaka Herath, 2009. "The Size of the Government and Economic Growth: An Empirical Study of Sri Lanka," SRE-Disc sre-disc-2009_08, Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    4. Ardagna, Silvia, 2004. "Fiscal Stabilizations: When Do They Work and Why," Scholarly Articles 2580047, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    5. Philip Grossman, 1987. "The optimal size of government," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 131-147, January.
    6. Giavazzi, Francesco & Jappelli, Tullio & Pagano, Marco, 2000. "Searching for non-linear effects of fiscal policy: Evidence from industrial and developing countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1259-1289, June.
    7. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2010. "Growth in a Time of Debt," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 573-578, May.
    8. Alberto Alesina & Silvia Ardagna, 2010. "Large Changes in Fiscal Policy: Taxes versus Spending," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 24, pages 35-68, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Francesco Giavazzi & Marco Pagano, 1990. "Can Severe Fiscal Contractions Be Expansionary? Tales of Two Small European Countries," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1990, Volume 5, pages 75-122, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Stephen Cecchetti & Madhusudan Mohanty & Fabrizio Zampolli, 2011. "The real effects of debt," BIS Working Papers 352, Bank for International Settlements.
    11. Hans Pitlik & Margit Schratzenstaller-Altzinger, 2011. "Growth Implications of Structure and Size of Public Sectors," WIFO Working Papers 404, WIFO.
    12. António Afonso & João Tovar-Valles, 2011. "Economic Performance and Government Size," Working Papers Department of Economics 2011/21, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Universidade de Lisboa.
    13. Ardagna, Silvia, 2004. "Fiscal stabilizations: When do they work and why," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 1047-1074, October.
    14. Francesco Forte & Ram Mudambi & Pietro Maria Navarra (ed.), 2014. "A Handbook of Alternative Theories of Public Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14898.
    15. Abbott, Andrew & Jones, Philip, 2012. "Intergovernmental transfers and procyclical public spending," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(3), pages 447-451.
    16. Alberto Alesina & Silvia Ardagna, 2013. "The Design of Fiscal Adjustments," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 27, pages 19-67, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Kormendi, Roger C. & Meguire, Philip G., 1985. "Macroeconomic determinants of growth: Cross-country evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 141-163, September.
    18. Olivier Jean Blanchard & Stanley Fischer, 1990. "NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1990, Volume 5," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number blan90-1.
    19. Alan T. Peacock & Jack Wiseman, 1961. "The Growth of Public Expenditure in the United Kingdom," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number peac61-1.
    20. Alberto Alesina & Dorian Carloni & Giampaolo Lecce, 2012. "The Electoral Consequences of Large Fiscal Adjustments," NBER Chapters, in: Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis, pages 531-570, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Magazzino, Cosimo, 2012. "Wagner versus Keynes: Public spending and national income in Italy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 890-905.
    22. repec:aei:rpaper:26118 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Scully, Gerald W, 1995. "The "Growth Tax" in the United States," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 85(1-2), pages 71-80, October.
    24. Kevin A. Hassett & Andrew G. Biggs & Matt Jensen, 2010. "A Guide for Deficit Reduction in the United States Based on Historical Consolidations That Worked," AEI Economics Working Papers 16693, American Enterprise Institute.
    25. Abbott, Andrew & Jones, Philip, 2012. "Budget deficits and social protection: Cyclical government expenditure in the OECD," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(3), pages 909-911.
    26. Ram, Rati, 1986. "Government Size and Economic Growth: A New Framework and Some Evidencefrom Cross-Section and Time-Series Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(1), pages 191-203, March.
    27. Mr. Daniel Leigh & Mr. Andrea Pescatori & Mr. Jaime Guajardo, 2011. "Expansionary Austerity New International Evidence," IMF Working Papers 2011/158, International Monetary Fund.
    28. Bavetta,Sebastiano & Navarra,Pietro, 2012. "The Economics of Freedom," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107017849, September.
    29. Salvador Barrios & Sven Langedijk & Lucio Pench, 2010. "EU fiscal consolidation after the financial crisis. Lessons from past experiences," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 418, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    30. Grossman, Philip J, 1988. "Growth in Government and Economic Growth: The Australian Experience," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(50), pages 33-43, June.
    31. Francesco Forte & Cosimo Magazzino, 2011. "Optimal Size Government and Economic Growth in EU Countries," Economia politica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 295-322.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tlaytmaste Bahaddi & Mohamed Karim, 2017. "Impact of Public Expenditure on the Growth in Morocco: Role of Governance," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(4), pages 12-19, April.
    2. Ayşegül Durucan, 2022. "Testing The Validity Of The Bars Curve For Turkey," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 67(232), pages 153-192, January –.
    3. Cosimo Magazzino & Francesco Forte & Lorenzo Giolli, 2022. "On the Italian public accounts' sustainability: A wavelet approach," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 943-952, January.
    4. Mounir Belloumi & Ahmed Aljazea, 2024. "Relationship between Energy and Economic Growth: Evidence from a Panel Nonlinear ARDL Model," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(2), pages 468-476, March.
    5. Emilian DOBRESCU, 2016. "Controversies over the Size of the Public Budget," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(4), pages 5-34, December.
    6. Olaoye, Olumide O. & Eluwole, Oluwatosin O. & Ayesha, Aziz & Afolabi, Olugbenga O., 2020. "Government spending and economic growth in ECOWAS: An asymmetric analysis," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    7. Gordon L. Brady & Cosimo Magazzino, 2019. "Government Expenditures and Revenues in Italy in a Long-run Perspective," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 17(2), pages 361-375, June.
    8. Olumide Olusegun Olaoye & Mosab I. Tabash & Olatunde Julius Omokanmi & Rotimi Ayoade Ogunjumo & Matthew Oyeleke Ojelade & James A. Ishola, 2022. "Macroeconomic implications of escalating stock of public debt: Evidence from sub‐Saharan African economies," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(4), pages 527-540, December.
    9. Gordon L. Brady & Cosimo Magazzino, 2017. "The Sustainability of Italian Public Debt and Deficit," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 23(1), pages 9-20, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Facchini, François & Melki, Mickaël, 2013. "Efficient government size: France in the 20th century," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 1-14.
    2. Giuseppe Di Liddo & Cosimo Magazzino & Francesco Porcelli, 2015. "Decentralization, Growth And Optimal Government Size In The Italian Regional Framework," Working Papers 0115, CREI Università degli Studi Roma Tre, revised 2015.
    3. Gordon Brady, 2015. "Austerity in the European Union: Keynesian Stimulus versus Fiscal Consolidation," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 43(1), pages 55-65, March.
    4. Francesco Forte & Cosimo Magazzino, 2014. "Optimal size of governments and the optimal ratio between current and capital expenditure," Chapters, in: Francesco Forte & Ram Mudambi & Pietro Maria Navarra (ed.), A Handbook of Alternative Theories of Public Economics, chapter 15, pages 342-367, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Magazzino, Cosimo, 2012. "Wagner versus Keynes: Public spending and national income in Italy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 890-905.
    6. Charles Amo Yartey & Mr. Machiko Narita & Mr. Shelton M Nicholls & Mr. Joel Chiedu Okwuokei, 2012. "The Challenges of Fiscal Consolidation and Debt Reduction in the Caribbean," IMF Working Papers 2012/276, International Monetary Fund.
    7. Afonso, António & Jalles, João Tovar, 2014. "Assessing fiscal episodes," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 255-270.
    8. Yang, Weonho & Fidrmuc, Jan & Ghosh, Sugata, 2015. "Macroeconomic effects of fiscal adjustment: A tale of two approaches," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 31-60.
    9. repec:vrs:joheec:v:1:y:2014:i:1:p:1-30:n:1 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Gordon L. Brady & Cosimo Magazzino, 2017. "The Sustainability of Italian Public Debt and Deficit," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 23(1), pages 9-20, February.
    11. Wanjuu Zungwe Lazarus & Hlalefang Khobai & Pierre Le Roux, 2017. "Government Size and Economic Growth in Africa and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Countries," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(4), pages 628-637.
    12. Hüseyin ŞEN & Ayşe KAYA, 2017. "Mali Konsolidasyon Büyüme ve İstihdam için Bir Çıpa mı, Mali Tuzak mı? Teorik ve Ampirik Literatür Temelli Bir Analiz," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 25(34).
    13. Geiger, Martin & Luhan, Wolfgang J. & Scharler, Johann, 2016. "When do fiscal consolidations lead to consumption booms? Lessons from a laboratory experiment," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-20.
    14. Agnello, Luca & Castro, Vitor & Sousa, Ricardo M., 2013. "What determines the duration of a fiscal consolidation program?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 113-134.
    15. Philip Arestis & Ayşe Kaya & Hüseyin Şen, 2018. "Does fiscal consolidation promote economic growth and employment? Evidence from the PIIGGS countries," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 15(3), pages 289-312, November.
    16. Wissem Khanfir, 2019. "Keynesian or Non-keynesian Effects of Fiscal Policy Changes: the Case of Tunisia," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(1), pages 335-347, March.
    17. Branimir Jovanovic, 2017. "Growth forecast errors and government investment and consumption multipliers," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 83-107, January.
    18. François Facchini & Mickaël Melki, 2011. "Optimal Government Size and Economic Growth in France (1871-2008): An explanation by the State and Market Failures," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 11077, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    19. Alberto Alesina & Silvia Ardagna, 2013. "The Design of Fiscal Adjustments," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 27, pages 19-67, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Bofinger, Peter & Buch, Claudia M. & Feld, Lars P. & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Wieland, Volker, 2013. "Gegen eine rückwärtsgewandte Wirtschaftspolitik. Jahresgutachten 2013/14 [Against a backward-looking economic policy. Annual Report 2013/14]," Annual Economic Reports / Jahresgutachten, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, volume 127, number 201314, February.
    21. Robert Pater & Tomasz Skica, 2014. "The productivity of public and private sector in Poland," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center, vol. 10(2), pages 120-137, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rss:jnljef:v3i2p1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Danish Khalil (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.rassweb.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.