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Essays on Government Growth

Political Institutions, Evolving Markets, and Technology

  • Provides a public choice analysis of government growth
  • Focuses on taxation, trade openness, technology, income changes, and tax compliance
  • Features prominent scholars such as Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, Casey Mulligan, Gordon Tullock, Randall Holcombe, and Tyler Cowen

Part of the book series: Studies in Public Choice (SIPC, volume 40)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Accounting for the Growth of Government

    • Gary S. Becker, Casey B. Mulligan
    Pages 1-40
  3. Government Growth

    • Gordon Tullock
    Pages 41-50
  4. Income Tax Evasion Prior to Withholding

    • Randall G. Holcombe, Robert J. Gmeiner
    Pages 75-95
  5. The Size and Composition of Government Spending in Multi-Party Systems

    • Carlos G. Scartascini, W. Mark Crain
    Pages 97-127
  6. A Congressional Theory of the Size of Government

    • Robi Ragan, Sachin Khurana
    Pages 129-143
  7. Trade and the Size of Government Revisited

    • Olga Haislip
    Pages 145-165

About this book

This book contains eight papers focusing on factors associated with the growth of government. There is a large literature in public economics, especially public choice, on the determinants of the growth of government. The papers in this volume focus on a number of arguments related to why government has grown in many developed countries during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Chapters focus on taxation, trade openness, technology, income changes, and tax compliance. The volume features prominent scholars such as Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, Casey Mulligan, Gordon Tullock, Randall Holcombe, and Tyler Cowen. 

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Economics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA

    Joshua Hall

  • College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA

    Bryan Khoo

About the editors

Joshua C. Hall is a professor of economics at West Virginia University (US) and Director of the Center for Free Enterprise within the College of Business and Economics. He earned his bachelor and master degrees in economics from Ohio University and his Ph.D. from West Virginia University in 2007. 

Bryan Khoo is currently a graduate student at West Virginia University (US) in the Ph.D. program. He earned his bachelor degree in Economics from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2019.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Essays on Government Growth

  • Book Subtitle: Political Institutions, Evolving Markets, and Technology

  • Editors: Joshua Hall, Bryan Khoo

  • Series Title: Studies in Public Choice

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55081-3

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55080-6Published: 23 December 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55083-7Published: 23 December 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-55081-3Published: 22 December 2020

  • Series ISSN: 0924-4700

  • Series E-ISSN: 2731-5258

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IX, 165

  • Number of Illustrations: 18 b/w illustrations, 5 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Public Economics, Political Economy/Economic Systems, Governance and Government

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access