What do you think of this? Does it tell us anything about the size or influence of government? I was surprised to learn recently that the U.S. government spends more in terms of percentage of GDP than Japan.
It’s somewhat relevant. It tells us what share of societies resources are used up by the state. It doesn’t tell us anything about regulation or interventionism though. Also it leaves out the opportunity cost of statism, the stuff we never had.
Its a sufficient but unnecessary condition for statism. It will leave out all the special privileges enjoyed by certain industries which are still considered “private”. I’d estimate that upwards of 70% of GDP is heavily dependent on state spending or privilege. Haven’t actually done the study yet… maybe I will?
A lot more relevant than using it as measure of economy.