HAS EUROPEAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AFFECTED THE FUNCTIONAL COMPOSITION OF GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES? |
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| Authors: | ISMAEL SANZ FRANCISCO J VELÁZQUEZ |
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| Institution: | Sanz:;Professor of Applied Economics, Desp. 104, Pabellón Segundo, Facultad de Ciencias, Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, s/n, E-28223 POZUELO DE ALARCÓN, MADRID (SPAIN). Phone 0034-913 942 454, Fax 0034-913 942 457, E-mail Velázquez:;Professor of Applied Economics, Desp. 106, Pabellón Segundo, Facultad de Ciencias, Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, s/n, E-28223 POZUELO DE ALARCÓN, MADRID (SPAIN). Phone 0034-913 942 592, Fax 0034-913 942 457. E-mail |
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| Abstract: | Globalization and growth-maximizing governments may cause countries to converge toward a similar composition of government expenditures. These convergent forces may be even more intensive in the case of EU member states engaged in the European integration process. The results obtained, through calculation of a constructed dissimilarity index and by adapting the usual indicators of convergence (β, σ, and γ), reveal that there has been a harmonization process. In addition, this approximation of the structures of government expenditures has been greater in the EU than in the non-EU countries of the OECD. Nevertheless, EU member states are converging toward a different steady-state composition of government expenditures. (JEL H11, H50, H60 ) |
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