The Future US Debt Crisis
Faced with the pandemic, big deficits and increased debt are not only inevitable, but desirable – on a strictly temporary basis. This is something on which nearly all economists agree. But this does not mean…
Long-Term Care Spending Will Grow Greatly
Although it is not the main driver of rising health expenditure, population aging will be a significant source of pressure on government budgets in other areas. Age pensions will, in some countries, be part of…
Population Aging & Health Spending
There is a widespread notion that demographic aging will be the most important single factor driving health expenditure up over coming decades – or that, at a minimum, its impact on spending will be as…
Bioscience Revolution To Drive Health Spending Up
In Bigger Government: The Future of Government Expenditure in Advanced Economies I show that government spending is set to increase greatly over the coming three decades in all advanced countries because of powerful external forces…
Post-Pandemic Fiscal Consolidation?
Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the budget deficits of advanced economies are projected to reach 15 percent of GDP on average this year. Debt, already high, is set to increase by more than 20 percent…
“Bigger Government” Podcast
To mark the publication today of Bigger Government: The Future of Government Expenditure in Advanced Economies, I am releasing a two episode podcast. The podcast is can be heard by clicking on this link, or…
Is Austerity to Blame?
In many advanced countries, the parlous condition of public hospitals – due largely to inadequate funding – has been thrown into sharp relief by the coronavirus crisis. The United States, France and the United Kingdom…
No, Increasing Poverty and Precarity Won’t Force Spending…
There are many who think that income support – welfare benefits such as unemployment benefits, income supplements and tax credits for the working poor, and child benefits – is a key area where governments will…
Health Care: The Biggest Growth Area
By far the most important reason why government expenditure can be expected to increase greatly over coming decades is growing health expenditure. There are strong grounds to expect that government health expenditure will grow by…
Why Government Will Get Bigger
Government spending has dramatically increased everywhere in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the savage recession which it has triggered. In the wake of this, the debate about the size of the state has gained…