Government size and the stability of output: evidence from emerging market economies

Fatas and Mihov (2001a, b) reported a negative and statistically significant relation between government size and output variability in a cross-section of 20 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and concluded that large governments stabilize output. This conclusion does not appear to be valid for Emerging Market Economies (EMEs). Results from cross-section and combined cross-section and time series regressions for a sample of 21 EMEs for the period 1970 to 2001 indicate that the relation between government size and output volatility is statistically significant and positive.