Conversely, the same research concludes that bigger government might be ‘bad’ if it is a result of activity that ‘crowds out’ (reduces) the private sector11 or unduly restricts private-sector activity and interferes too much in people’s lives.12 But within these rather obvious limits, the ideal size of government is hard to quantify–not least because it depends heavily on what you want government to do and how you value government activity. And here we have a problem: there has been a dearth of thinking by economists–both historically and in recent decades–about the value created by
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