Government Spending, Shocks, and the Role of Legislature Size: Evidence from the American States

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Hankins
1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendell C. Lawther ◽  
Earle C. Traynham ◽  
Kenneth M. Jennings

There are few studies which report on the personnel practices in the American states. A survey of state compensation analysts in the Summer of 1987 elicited information concerning the use of compensation controls in state government. Results indicate that with the exception of wage and salary surveys, data concerning compensation controls is rarely collected. Initial analysis indicates that the role of the legislature and the existence of collective bargaining may have an impact on the number of controls used.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olumide Olusegun Olaoye ◽  
Ukafor Ukafor Okorie ◽  
Oluwatosin Odunayo Eluwole ◽  
Mahmood Butt Fawwad

PurposeThis study examines the asymmetric effect of government spending on economic growth in Nigeria over the period 1980–2017. Specifically, this study investigates whether the response of economic growth to government spending shocks differs according to the nature of shocks on them. In addition, the authors examine whether the stabilizing effects of fiscal policies are dependent on the state of the business cycle.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts the linear fiscal reaction function in addition to the nonlinear regression model of Hatemi-J (2011, 2012), Granger and Yoon (2002), which allows us to separate negative shocks from positive shocks to government spending. Similarly, the authors adopt the generalized method of moments (GMM) techniques of Hansen (1982) to account for simultaneity and endogeneity problems inherent in dynamic model.FindingsThe authors’ findings reveal that there is evidence of asymmetry in the government spending–economic growth nexus in Nigeria over the period of study. Specifically, the authors find that the response of economic growth to government spending shocks differs according to the nature of shocks on them. More specifically, the study established that the stabilizing effects of fiscal policies are dependent on the state of the business cycle.Originality/valueUnlike the traditional method of modeling asymmetry, which adopts the simple inclusion of a squared government spending term or by the inclusion of a cubic government spending term, the model adopted in this study allows us to model shocks and show how the responses of economic growth to government expenditure differ according to the nature of shocks on them.


2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 882-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Tabani Mpofu

This study looked at the phenomenon of the quality of life (QoL) as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI), which is a composite statistic used to rank countries by the level of “human development”. Measuring and determining what is QoL is not an easy task. In this study, using HDI as the yardstick for QoL, the concepts of standard of living and per capita income were examined closely in relation to the role of government in its public expenditure programmes and how these programmes in turn influenced QoL. This research question was seen as the key to addressing the phenomenon of QoL. In particular, the role of government expenditure on health and education seems to signify the commitment of a government in improving the HDI or QoL. Using data on government expenditure of South Africa for the period 1995 to 2011, the relationships amongst these variables were examined. The findings indicate that there seems to be a significant correlation between HDI and government spending on health and education as a percentage of GDP, but there seems to be of no significance to include the variable government spending on health and education as a percentage of total government spending. The findings tell us that between 1995 and 2011, government spending on education as a percentage of GDP has had a positive impact on HDI. However, government spending on health as a percentage of GDP has had a retarding effect as shown by the negative coefficient of variation. It then implies that for South Africa to realize the MDG goals and improve on the HDI, public spending on health as a percentage of GDP needs to be significantly increased.


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