Bigger Government

The Future of Government Expenditure in Advanced Economies

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Pub Date 9 Jul 2020 | Archive Date 10 Oct 2020

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Description

Governments worldwide are growing due to unavoidable external factors such as the coronavirus, climate change and long-term health care. How we manage that growth will be crucial to our future.

Advanced nations are headed for a new era of bigger government, with government expenditure set to increase enormously over the next three decades.

In all advanced economies, health spending will be driven upwards by the costs of precision medicine and other new technologies, as well as the need to restore the capacity of the health system to deal with shocks like that which the world is facing at present. 

Governments will also be compelled to spend big on fighting global warming, fixing ailing infrastructure and providing adequate aged care for a rapidly greying population.

The combined effect of these and other spending pressures threatens to drive budget deficits and government debt through the roof. Large tax increases will be necessary, most of all in the low-tax United States. Pruning welfare spending will also be high on the agenda in countries with the most comprehensive welfare states.

Such large increases in government spending will pose a major problem for future governments and for all mainstream poles of political opinion. This fascinating book examines the challenges and how to cope with prospect of the relentless rise in government spending. 

Governments worldwide are growing due to unavoidable external factors such as the coronavirus, climate change and long-term health care. How we manage that growth will be crucial to our future.

...


Advance Praise

"This deeply-researched and brilliantly-argued book is an honest, clear-minded assessment of the fiscal future that awaits advanced countries in response to changes in health care, income support, infrastructure deficits and other powerful drivers of public spending. Robinson's mastery of program details and socioeconomic trends makes this study essential reading for national leaders and public finance specialists." Allen Schick, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution and Professor Emeritus, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland

"This book represents a path-breaking contribution to our understanding of the future of public finances in advanced economies. It challenges traditional dogmas on drivers of public spending and instead suggests that irrespective of political leaning of governments, advancements in health care technology, delayed actions on climate change and long-term care will drive public through the roof in coming decades in advanced countries. This book is a wake-up call for policy makers to take action now on emerging challenges or facets wrath of electorate in justifying higher taxes in future. It is a must-read book for policy makers, practitioners, scholars and students." Anwar Shah, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; former Director, Governance Program, World Bank; and Director, Center for Public Economics, SWUFE, Chengdu, China

"This deeply-researched and brilliantly-argued book is an honest, clear-minded assessment of the fiscal future that awaits advanced countries in response to changes in health care, income support...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9782970140115
PRICE £12.99 (GBP)

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Featured Reviews

This book had lots of data to support the points made in terms of the spending needed that we can expect in the future. A study in Canada found that paying $7500 to homeless saved $8100 to the system. Doing these experiments of how spending can save money to the system can make for better policy direction for the future.

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