Abstract
In this chapter the broad context for our subsequent analysis of pay in the public sector will be developed. The substantial rise in public expenditure that has occurred over the period will be detailed together with its increasing share that is being accounted for by the wages and salaries bill. The rise in public sector employment, a big constituent of the rising pay bill, will be detailed and alternative explanations of this process will be reviewed. On one view the rise in public employment and hence expenditures is a consequence of the Keynesian countercyclical employment policies that the government has pursued, while on another it is the result of an attempt to maintain or increase the output of public sector goods. In detailing the current controversies that surround our growing public sector, this chapter sets the scene for our subsequent discussions and in so doing reveals a number of aspects of these developments which have important implications for future policy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
M. Abramovitz and V. F. Eliasberg, The Growth of Public Employment in Great Britain ( Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957 ).
R. Bacon and W. Eltis, Britain’s Economic Problem: Too Few Producers ( London: Macmillan, 1976 ).
W. J. Baumol, ‘The Macroeconomics of Unbalanced Growth’, American Economic Review (1967).
C. J. F. Brown and T. D. Sheriff, ‘De-industrialisation: background paper’, F. Blackaby (ed.) In De-industrialisation, ( London: Heinemann, 1974 ).
J. Buchanan, Public Finance in Democratic Process (1967).
J. M. Buchanan and G. Tullock, The Calculus of Consent (Ann Arbor, 1962 ).
A. Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy ( New York: Harper and Row, 1957 ).
FR. F. Elliott, ‘The Growth of White-Collar Employment in GB 1951 to 1971’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. XV, No. 1 (March 1977).
The Government’s Expenditure Plans, 1978–79 to 1981–82, Vol. 1,Cmnd. 7049–1 ((HMSO, 1978).
A. Graziani, Informo all ‘Aumento Progressivo Della Sperse’ ( Modena: Pubbliche, 1887 ).
P. M. Jackson, ‘The Growth of Public Sector Employment: The Case of the U.K.’, Institute of Fiscal Studies (1976).
P. M. Jackson, comment on a paper by A. R. Thatcher titled ‘Labour Supply and Employment Trends’ in F. Blackaby (ed.) De-industrialisation, ( London: Heinemann, 1979 ).
J. Johnston ‘A Macro-Model of Inflation’, Economic Journal, Vol. 85 (June 1975).
H. B. Junz and R. R. Rhomberg, ‘Price Competitiveness in Exports’, American Economic Review (1973).
R. L. Marris, ‘A Note on Measuring the Share of the Public Sector’, Review of Economic Studies, Vol. XXII, No. 3 (1954–55).
R. Maurice, National Accounts Statistics: Sources and Methods, CSO (HMSO, 1968 ).
E. J. Mishan, ‘Welfare Economics and Public Expenditure’ in M. V. Posner (ed.) Public Expenditure: Allocation Between Competing Ends, ( Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979 ).
R. A. Musgrave and P. B. Musgrave, Public Finance in Theory and Practice 2nd ed. (Tokyo: McGraw-Hill, Kogakusha Ltd., 1976 ).
National Economic Development Office, International Price Competitiveness, non-price factors and export performance ( London: NEDO, 1977 ).
W. A. Niskanen, Bureaucracy and Representative Government (Chicago, 1971 ).
A. T. Peacock and J. Wiseman, The Growth of Public Expenditure in the U.K., 2nd. ed. ( London: George Allen and Unwin, 1967 ).
A. T. Peacock and J. Wiseman, ‘Approaches to the Analysis of Government Expenditure Growth’, York University Institute of Social and Economic Research, Discussion Paper No. 5 (1978).
A. R. Prest, ‘Government Revenue and the National Income’, Public Finance, VI, No. 3 (1951).
P. Sitta, L’Aumento Progressivo Delle Spese Pubbliche (Ferrara, 1893 ).
D. Smith, ‘Public Consumption and Economic Performance’, National Westminster Bank Quarterly Review (November 1975).
A. P. Thirlwall, ‘The U.K.’s Economic Problem: A Balance of Payments Constraint?’, National Westminster Bank Quarterly Review (February 1978).
A. W. J. Thomson and P. B. Beaumont, Public Sector Bargaining: A Study of Relative Gain ( London: Saxon House, 1978 ).
A. Wagner, Finanzwissenschaft, 3rd ed. (Leipzig, 1883 ).
F. Wilkinson and H. A. Turner, ‘The Wage—Tax Spiral and Labour Militancy’, in D. Jackson, H. A. Turner, and F. Wilkinson, Do Trade Unions Cause Inflation, ( Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972 ).
Copyright information
© 1981 R. F. Elliott and J. L. Fallick
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Elliott, R.F., Fallick, J.L. (1981). The Importance of the Public Sector. In: Pay in the Public Sector. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-03765-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-03765-0_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-03767-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-03765-0
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)