Economic Growth and the Public Sector: A Comparison of Canada and Italy, 1870-2013
By Livio Di Matteo, T. P. Barbiero There is considerable evidence that the size of the public sector can influence an economy’s rate of economic growth. We investigate public sector spending of central governments and economic performance in two G7 countries over the long-term, Canada and Italy. Their economic performance has diverged in the last 25 years and it is worth investigating whether the size of government was a contributing factor. We find that in both the case of...
