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May 23, 2006
Less is more ... much more
TCS has a refreshing rundown of two recent studies that support the conclusion that less government allows for greater ... well, everything.
Here's a tasty snippet (though I highly recommend you read it in its entirety as it answers the most dim, er..., common questions small government naysayers natter on about):
First, a group of Swiss and Danish researchers from the WIF Institute of Economic Research in Zurich looked at whether government involvement in the economy is conducive to life satisfaction across 74 countries. The results show that life satisfaction actually decreases with higher government spending. This negative impact of the government is stronger in countries with a left-leaning median voter. It is alleviated by government effectiveness - but, crucially, only in countries where the state sector is already small. In general, a one standard deviation increase in government spending yields a median decrease of 4.42 percent in self-reported satisfaction by the voters, a drop in the degree of economic competition of 4.17 percent and a shift in voter preferences in rightward ideological direction of 4.15-9 percent.Another comprehensive study released by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) in the UK summarized available data from various sources, to show that modern governments that spend less can, indeed, provide better public services, a better standard of living and more equitable incomes than high-spending governments. ...
According to the report, "the most surprising finding to some observers is what has happened to public services. In the leaner government group, the growth in spending on public services accelerated to an average annual rate of 4.3% in 2000-2005, up from 2.4% in 1980-90. This suggests that an increased share of national income left in private hands stimulated greater efficiency and faster growth in the private sector, thus boosting individual and corporate tax revenues despite lower rates." The report cites Ireland as the exemplary case of what is known in the economic literature as the expansionary fiscal contraction phenomena - the case of reduced fiscal burdens of the state spending leading to improvement in government revenue. As Ireland's corporate tax rate fell to 12.5 percent, expanding tax base supported 6.4 percent average annual increases in public service spending since 1999, compared with just 0.1 percent growth during the 1980s.
Posted by juliekesselman at May 23, 2006 09:44 AM
I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten40953 at January 26, 2007 09:54 PM
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My mind is like a bunch of nothing, but I guess it doesn't bother me. I haven't been up to anything recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing to speak of.
Comment by: Sten51674 at January 27, 2007 04:16 PM
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My mind is like a bunch of nothing, but I guess it doesn't bother me. I haven't been up to anything recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing to speak of.
Comment by: Sten91125 at January 27, 2007 11:35 PM
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Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't been up to much these days. I just don't have much to say right now. I can't be bothered with anything , but whatever.
Comment by: Sten32738 at January 28, 2007 10:42 AM
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I just don't have much to say these days, but so it goes. Today was a total loss. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten21876 at January 29, 2007 02:57 AM
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I haven't gotten anything done recently. I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I haven't been up to anything these days, but it's not important. Today was a total loss.
Comment by: Sten58606 at January 29, 2007 06:49 PM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. My life's been pretty unremarkable these days. Eh.
Comment by: Sten61219 at January 30, 2007 07:49 AM
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Basically nothing noteworthy happening right now, but eh. Today was a complete loss. I haven't been up to much recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten84343 at January 30, 2007 05:48 PM
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I haven't been up to anything today. I can't be bothered with anything recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't gotten anything done recently, but oh well. Not much noteworthy going on worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten32668 at January 31, 2007 07:20 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. My life's been pretty unremarkable these days. Eh.
Comment by: Sten86881 at January 31, 2007 09:48 AM
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I haven't been up to anything these days. So it goes. I can't be bothered with anything these days.
Comment by: Sten67132 at January 31, 2007 04:19 PM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten74000 at February 1, 2007 12:25 AM
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Basically nothing noteworthy happening right now, but eh. Today was a complete loss. I haven't been up to much recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten10402 at February 1, 2007 12:33 PM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten9821 at February 1, 2007 04:04 PM
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I just don't have anything to say. Not that it matters. Eh. I've just been staying at home doing nothing, but I don't care. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten5410 at February 1, 2007 10:35 PM
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I haven't been up to much lately. I've basically been doing nothing , but it's not important. I can't be bothered with anything recently. I've just been letting everything happen without me lately.
Comment by: Sten24280 at February 2, 2007 07:35 AM
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I haven't gotten anything done today. I feel like a fog, but what can I say? I've just been letting everything wash over me lately, not that it matters. Shrug.
Comment by: Sten34809 at February 2, 2007 04:47 PM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten13273 at February 3, 2007 12:31 AM
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I haven't been up to much today. I've just been letting everything happen without me. Basically nothing seems worth bothering with. I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I just don't have anything to say right now. More or less nothing happening.
Comment by: Sten7942 at February 4, 2007 11:14 PM
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I just don't have anything to say. Not that it matters. Eh. I've just been staying at home doing nothing, but I don't care. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten12992 at February 5, 2007 04:34 PM
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My life's been pretty dull recently. Shrug. My mind is like a void. I haven't gotten anything done lately. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten91374 at February 6, 2007 08:15 AM
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