Who Spends More: Left or Right?

Public policy debates are often coloured by ideological preconceptions. For example, we expect political parties on “the left” to have a tendency to increase public spending when they are in power, and parties on “the right” to have a tendency to reduce it. This perception clearly stems from official statements that emphasize different goals. But what is the reality? Do these different ideological leanings systematically translate into increases in the size of the state under left-wing governments and reductions in the size of the state under right-wing governments?

Technical Annex for the Economic Note

Media release :: Do governments of the left spend more? Not necessarily, concludes an MEI publication

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