Doctoral thesis of Philosophy: Economic consequences of the size of government in Australia

The thesis contributes to the economics literature by providing a theoretical and empirical investigation of the effects of changes in the relative size of government on Australian economic performance. The theoretical literature indicates that an expansion in government size is likely to induce adverse effects upon economic growth for a host of reasons. These include the distortionary effects of taxation imposed to finance government expenditures, the displacement effects of private sector economic activity attributable to public sector interventions, and the growth in governmental activity encouraging economic participants to divert their attentions away from direct market activities and towards seeking benefits through the political process.