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.
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© 1981 R. F. Elliott and J. L. Fallick
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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
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-03765-0_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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