Politics and provincial government spending in Canada
Article Abstract:
Much has been written on the growth of government expenditures at the national level, focusing on economic variables. Few studies have focused on the growth of spending at the provincial level. Even fewer studies have sought to examine the role of politics in provincial government spending. This paper seeks to fill the gap. It examines the growth of government in Canadian provinces over the last quarter-century, 1960 through 1986, and the role of politics in that growth. Government spending in Canada has grown rapidly at the provincial level over the past quarter-century, more rapidly than at the federal level. The present study develops and tests an econometric model of provincial government expenditure that incorporates economic, social, and political factors. In particular, the influence of the political party in power on provincial government spending is examined. Surprisingly, in most Canadian provinces the political party in power is found to have no significant impact on the level or growth of provincial government spending over the last twenty-five years. Instead, the growth of provincial government spending has been stimulated by the growth of the private sector provincial GDP. The provincial governments have responded to changes in the state of provincial economy and to provincial unemployment by increasing their own level of expenditures. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Canadian Public Administration
Subject: Government
ISSN: 0008-4840
Year: 1992
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Provincial-municipal equalization in the Maritime provinces
Article Abstract:
This paper examines provincial-municipal equalization grant programs in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. It reviews the equalization grants recommended by the Byrne and Graham royal commissions and compares them to the actual programs in place in the Maritime provinces. The current programs are then simulated using a common data base of the twenty-three independent cities in Ontario. The impacts of the grants on the distribution of wealth among the sample cities are determined. The paper concludes that only the Nova Scotia program is successful at lessening differences in fiscal capacity among municipalities. The paper ends with suggestions for reform that parallel the earlier recommendations of the Byrne and Graham royal commissions. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Canadian Public Administration
Subject: Government
ISSN: 0008-4840
Year: 1987
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