Abstract
Perhaps the most general observation that can be made about government activities is that they have grown, both relatively and absolutely, in all countries of the world. This commonplace observation must necessarily serve as the starting point for any systematic treatment of the political economy of public expenditure, for the growth of government lies at the heart of continued controversy over the role of the public sector. This controversy is particularly acute in a mixed economy where the public sector is growing more rapidly than the private and where it often appears that this growth is at the expense of, or contributes to a diminution in, private economic activity. In any economic system, regardless of the relative growth of public and private activities, there will be continuously difficult and controversial choices in selecting the appropriate composition of government expenditure and in choosing among alternative government programs that are intended to accomplish social goals.
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© 1971 Jesse Burkhead and Jerry Miner
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Burkhead, J., Miner, J. (1971). The Nature of the Public Sector. In: Public Expenditure. Aldine Treatises in Modern Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-01372-2_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-01372-2_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-01374-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-01372-2
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