A high weight of public spending: Stabilising during crises, but leading to higher average unemployment?
It may seem reasonable to think that in a country where the weight of public spending is high: Cyclical fluctuations are small, since public spending does not follow the cycle and is even usually countercyclical; But, on the other hand, the average unemployment rate is high, since if public spending is high, the tax burden is high, which is usually bad for employment. Comparing OECD countries, we find that a high weight of public spending: Does not reduce the variability of growth; Increases the tax burden; Increases unemployment, especially if the high tax burden corresponds to corporate social contributions.