The government's 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review was anything but comprehensive. The cuts to government spending were modest, and large swathes of state activity were barely touched. Britain will remain a heavily regulated, high-tax, high-spend economy. Instead of totally reviewing the...

Taxation and government spending as a proportion of GDP have increased dramatically since World War I. Spending has increased from one-eighth of national income to somewhere between 40% and 45% of GDP today, the actual figure depending on how GDP is measured. Despite widespread hysteria, there...

Executive summary:Government spending is over 50 per cent of national income. Spending grew steadily in the twentieth century and then experienced very rapid growth from the beginning of the 21st century.Much government spending discourages economic activity and prevents innovation and...

Executive summary:The idea put forward by the British government that economists and politicians pursue policies directed towards maximising GDP is a ‘straw man’. Government has always had a multitude of different objectives and government policy would be very different today if economic...