Speaking to Rick Gibbons on CFRA’s Homepage program on Thursday, MLI Senior Fellow Philip Cross said he hopes his recently-released study on the size of government provokes a debate about the role of regulation in the economy.
Cross was discussing his paper, titled “Estimating the True Size of Government: Adjusting for regulation”, which shows that government controls about two-thirds of the economy. The report is a companion piece to another MLI study, released earlier this year, that measures how accounting for tax expenditures increases government’s size.
“These studies are meant to answer that question: what is the true extent of government’s control of the economy?”, Cross said. “Once we know that, then you can ask the question: ‘Is that too much? Is it about right? Is it not enough?’”
Cross’ study finds that government controls over 64 per cent of the economy when regulation and tax expenditures are added to direct spending as a portion of GDP in measures of government’s size.
To hear the full interview, click here and listen to the May 29, 2014 show. Cross’ portion starts at 18:27.
Cross also appeared on Winnipeg’s 680 CJOB to talk about the report. To hear that interview, click here and start listening at 10:57 a.m. on May 29.
