Read, Robert (2020) Size, Governance & Expenditure On Defence & Education:Realpolitik & the Peace Dividend for Small Economies. In: Handbook of Governance in Small States. Routledge International Handbooks (1st). Routledge, London, pp. 331-350. ISBN 9780367183998
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
This chapter investigates Kuznets’ argument that small economies support disproportionately large government sectors, with a specific focus on the relationship between country size and expenditure on defence and education. As expected, the study finds a significant negative relationship between country size (measured in terms of population) and the government sector for both GNI and government consumption, using averaged data 2015-17. Defence expenditure however, is found to be positively and significantly related to country size, contrary to Kuznets’ inference. This finding accords with evidence of higher levels of governance and institutional quality in conjunction with realpolitik in small economies. Lower expenditure on defence generates a ‘peace dividend’ that facilitates potentially greater proportionate spending on social objectives.