Fiscal Policy and Growth: The Case of the Spanish Regions

This paper studies the effects of several fiscal variables on the regional growth of labour productivity in Spain over the period 1965-1997. Panel estimates are reported for this sample. The results show that public consumption affects growth negatively whereas public investment exerts a positive (but not always significant) effect on the productivity growth rate. Public investment in education has a positive impact on the dependent variable, while the opposite is true for public investment in health. Our findings also detect that taxes and social benefits are growth-impeding. Estimates dealing with specification problems are considered.