The relationship between government size and growth has received an enormous attention in the economics literature, and the recent financial crisis has forced this topic back on the agenda. A highly controversial debate in this respect is whether large governments are harmful for growth....

German Abstract: Als Ausfluss der Bemühungen vieler Länder, die im Zuge der internationalen Finanzkrise entstandenen Budgetprobleme zu lösen, ist das öffentliche Interesse an der Effizienz und Effektivität der Staatsausgaben in den letzten Jahren stark gestiegen. Mit einer Reihe von...

There is evidence that a budget consolidation strategy can work with only a small and short lived negative impact on growth. However, this time consolidation is taking place in the aftermath of a deep crisis which had lead to increased levels of uncertainty. In addition the financial sector, as...