State quota

The state ratio (also expenditure ratio , English government spending ratio ) is an economic indicator , the relationship of the state expenditure for GDP reproduces.

General

State expenditure results from state tasks that the state performs. In the national accounts for the sector include government , the local authorities (in Germany: federal government , states and municipalities ) and the Social Security , all in particular through investment in infrastructure (such as motorways or trunk roads , education , research and development , national defense ) or by paying Transfer payments (such as social benefits ) contribute to national value creation. The state is thus a producer of public goods and finances private consumption through transfer payments .

State consumption, which is hidden in consumer spending, forms a sub-aggregate of government expenditure. In its domestic trade policy , the state must find an appropriate balance between consumer and investment spending, depending on the economic situation.

detection

The government expenditure is used to measure the government ratio, which reflects the relationship between government expenditure and gross domestic product. Government expenditures are made up of government consumption , government investments , interest expenditures and expenditures for social transfers and subsidies : ${\displaystyle G}$ ${\displaystyle C_{G}}$ ${\displaystyle I_{G}}$ ${\displaystyle Z}$ ${\displaystyle S}$

${\displaystyle G=C_{G}+I_{G}+Z+S}$.

The government quota as an indicator of government activity in an economy, measured in terms of gross domestic product , is then calculated as follows: ${\displaystyle BIP}$

${\displaystyle {\text{Staatsquote}}={\frac {\text{G}}{\text{BIP}}}\cdot 100\,\%}$.

The higher the state quota, the stronger the state influence of state finances on the economy and vice versa. In welfare states there is regularly a high state quota. The proportion remaining after deducting the government quota shows how much space remains for the private sector in an economy.

economic aspects

Adolph Wagner's law of increasing government spending , formulated in 1892, forms the origin of the discussion about an acceptable level of the government quota. For Wagner, the main reason for rising government quotas lay in the transition of many states from an orderly state to an expenditure-intensive welfare state , so that he forecast growing government spending. He saw the cause of the state power with its internal and external security ( justice , military , police or foreign service ) as well as the cultural sovereignty and welfare function of the state ( schools , health care , social assistance ). New causes such as the financing of wars ( Peacock-Wiseman hypothesis ) or the laws on the growth of bureaucracy have intensified the trend towards increasing government spending. In war or times of crisis, the financial cost of the state is increasing by leaps and bounds ( English displacement effect ). Another explanation is the budget-maximizing model of Niskanen made.

Further attempts at explanation

The Popitzsche law postulates a relationship between increasing state rate and an increasing proportion of the central government to the State expenditure. The Baumol cost disease model also belongs in this context . Another explanation is the classification of state services as so-called superior goods . These are characterized by the fact that their consumption increases with increasing income. If demand rises faster than income, then expenditure on these goods increases not only in absolute terms, but also in relative terms as measured by total expenditure. The fiscal illusion is also discussed. It says that citizens, without being able to foresee the consequences, vote for governments that have high government spending. This in turn is reflected in an increasingly complex tax system , which is supposed to hide the actual financial burdens.

The Brechtian law , however, finds an explanation in the ever-increasing urbanization . Government benefits tend to be higher in cities than in rural areas. As the urban population rises, government spending must grow even faster.

Another possible explanation that should not be underestimated, especially in the western world, is demographic change . With increasing aging of the population, the government benefits that cover the associated financial consequences rising such. B. Insurance measures against old-age poverty , pension and health benefits.

State quota and economy

The key figure for the government ratio rises when either government spending increases with stagnating gross domestic product or when gross domestic product falls with constant government spending. A higher government quota can therefore be expected during or after recessions , economic or financial crises . If the state quota tends to increase, one speaks of growing state interventionism . In the case of prosperity , the government quota falls, while economic growth , social cuts or austerity policies also contribute to lowering the government quota.

State quotas international

The national accounts and financial statistics serve as sources for the government quota . International comparisons are only possible to a limited extent because the composition of government spending and the statistical recording of gross domestic product differ.

country	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Belgium	52.1	48.6	48.4	50.1	54.1	53.3	55.8	55.6	55.1	53.9	53.7	53.0
Denmark	52.6	51.5	50.8	51.9	58.3	57.1	58.3	56.5	56.0	55.7	54.8	53.5
Germany	46.8	45.4	43.7	43.7	47.6	46.6	44.5	44.5	44.3	43.9	44.3	44.5
Finland	50.0	48.9	47.2	49.3	55.8	54.8	56.2	57.5	58.1	58.3	58.3	58.1
France	53.3	52.7	52.3	52.8	56.0	56.4	56.8	57.0	57.3	56.8	56.2	55.9
Greece	43.8	44.9	46.2	49.1	53.2	52.5	55.3	62.1	50.7	55.3	50.7	49.6
Ireland	34.0	34.5	36.8	42.7	48.9	65.7	41.8	39.7	38.6	35.1	32.4	31.5
Italy	48.1	48.7	47.9	48.9	51.9	49.9	50.8	51.0	51.2	50.5	49.7	48.6
Japan	38.4	36.0	35.8	36.4	39.5	40.7	41.8	42.4	42.0	41.4	41.5	41.6
Luxembourg	41.5	38.6	36.2	36.9	42.2	44.9	44.6	43.2	42.4	41.5	41.5	40.9
Netherlands	44.8	45.5	45.2	46.0	51.4	48.2	47.1	46.4	46.2	44.9	44.3	43.7
Austria	50.1	49.3	48.3	48.7	52.3	52.7	51.1	50.8	52.6	51.7	51.4	50.7
Portugal	45.8	44.5	43.7	43.5	48.1	51.8	48.5	49.9	51.7	48.3	46.6	45.8
Sweden	53.6	52.6	50.9	51.5	54.6	51.7	51.7	52.4	51.7	50.4	50.1	50.4
Switzerland	37.2	35.4	34.2	32.5	34.6	34.1	34.7	32.9	33.8	34.0	34.3	34.4
Spain	38.4	38.4	39.2	41.3	45.8	48.0	48.0	45.1	44.5	43.3	42.1	41.3
United Kingdom	44.1	44.2	43.9	47.5	51.7	48.8	46.8	45.0	43.9	43.2	42.6	42.0
United States	36.6	36.5	37.4	38.6	41.6	42.9	40.0	38.7	38.0	37.6	37.9	38.1
People's Republic of China	18.4	18.5	18.3	22.6	25.8	25.9	28.1	29.7	28.9	31.3	31.9	32.2

Swell:

• Federal Statistical Office :
• German Federal Ministry of Finance :
• Federal Statistical Office :
• Chemnitz University of Technology :
• Statista GmbH :

In 2017, Finland, France, Denmark and Belgium led the statistics of traditionally typical welfare states .

State quota and economic growth

There is no consensus among representatives of economics as to whether a low government quota generally contributes to higher economic growth . Critics of a low government quota cite the Scandinavian countries, which have a government quota of sometimes over 50%, but also have an above-average standard of living . So far, there is no study that has been able to demonstrate a clear connection between the government quota and growth.

Lars Feld , member of the Advisory Council for the Assessment of Macroeconomic Development , is of the opinion that there is “no linear relationship between the state rate and economic growth”. If the government quota were 0%, there would be no “essential government framework”. Rights of ownership and disposal would be "not secured" and contracts could "not be enforced in court". On the other hand, if the state quota were 100%, any individual economic activity would be prevented. Here Feld names the central administration economies of real socialist states. The optimal government quota differs from country to country and depends on the respective framework conditions.

See also

• Deadweight loss
• Real spending ratio
• Tax rate
• Economic order
• List of countries by state budget
• List of countries by national debt ratio

literature

• Literature on the state quota in the catalog of the German National Library
• Ralf Kronberger: Supplements to the current document “Public Finances in Austria”: How does the state operate? ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF) In: Current documents of the Working Group for Business and School. No. 49, March 2005.
• Berthold Wigger: Fundamentals of Public Finance . Springer, Heidelberg 2006, ISBN 3-540-28169-X , pp. 9-11.
• Economy: lowest government quota in 13 years . In: FAZ . February 23, 2005.

Web links

• Statistics for the Federal Republic of Germany 1960–2008. Federal Ministry of Finance
• 19 national quotas in an international comparison. on the website of the Federal Ministry of Finance, September 22, 2014.
• Margit Schratzenstaller * / WIFO (2013): State quotas - definitions, limits of comparability and informative value

Individual evidence

1. ↑ W + G compact, E-Profile , Volume 5, 2012, p. 64 ff.
2. ↑ Uwe Wagschal, National Debt: Causes in International Comparison , 1996, p. 60
3. ↑ Horst Siebert / Oliver Lorz, Introduction to Economics , 1969, p. 321
4. ↑ Adolph Wagner, Foundation of Political Economy , 1892, p. 893 ff.
5. ↑ Edgar Forster / Renate Ohr, Budget Policy in Open Economies , 1987, p. 22
6. ^ Adolph Wagner, Foundation of Political Economy , 1892, p. 888
7. ^ Alan T Peacock / Jack Wiseman, The Growth of Public Expenditure in the United Kingdom , 1967, p. 42 ff.
8. ^ Walter Wittmann, Public Finances: Introduction to Public Finance , 1983, p. 54
9. ↑ ^{a b c d} Berthold Wigger: Fundamentals of public finance . Springer, Heidelberg 2006, ISBN 3-540-28169-X , pp. 9-11.
10. ↑ Manfred G. Schmidt, Governing in the Federal Republic of Germany , 1992, p. 107
11. ^ Marc Hansmann, Before the third national bankruptcy? , 2012, p. 37
12. ↑ Verlag Dr. Th. Gabler, Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon , Volume 5, 1984, Sp. 1369
13. ^ Federal Statistical Office: Key figures on public finances. Retrieved February 3, 2017 . 
14. ↑ Share of total government spending in gross domestic product ( Memento from June 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (as of November 1, 2006, Internet Archive )
15. ↑ Statistical Yearbook 2010 (PDF)
16. ↑ USA: Government quota from 2003 to 2013
17. ↑ 18 Tax ratios in an international comparison German Federal Ministry of Finance based on the “Statistical Annex of the European Economy” of the EU Commission
18. ↑ Development of the government quota . Federal Ministry of Finance
19. ↑ Key figures in% of GDP. (No longer available online.) Swiss Statistics, archived from the original on November 6, 2011 ; Retrieved November 3, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
20. ↑ State quota in an international comparison ( Memento from January 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 42 kB)
21. ↑ European Union: State ratios in the member states in 2014 , China: State ratio from 2005 to 2015
22. ↑ Germany on the way to socialism. In: . January 11, 2010.
23. ↑ How high should the government quota be? In: The time. June 26, 2007.
24. ↑ Lars Feld: Between anarchy and total state . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . July 3, 2011.