Using time-series techniques and panels data, the paper analyses for the EU countries in the period 1970-2009 the existence and shape of the "BARS curve" (Barro, Armey, Rahn, and Scully), connecting the size of Government (measured by the share of public expenditure on GDP) to the rate of...

The relationship between public expenditure and aggregate income has long been debated in economic literature. According to Wagner, expenditure is an endogenous factor or an outcome. On the other hand, Keynes considered public expenditure as an exogenous factor to be used as a policy instrument...

The aim of this study is to empirically assess the existence of the BARS curve (Barro, Armey, Rahn, and Scully), as well as the relationship between public expenditure and decentralization, for Italian regions in the 1997-2009 period. Using panel data methodologies, we inspect the nexus between...