WIFO White Paper: Public Sector Contribution to Growth

As theoretical and empirical studies show, the size of the public sector in itself has little effect on growth and employment. Of greater relevance is the structure of government revenue and spending. Taxes and charges on labour are distinctly more detrimental to growth and employment than those levied on capital gains and property. The tax burden on labour well exceeds the EU average and keeps increasing. Shifting taxes away from labour and more towards environmentally harmful activities and capital stock would promote growth and employment. Spending on education, investments and R&D is particularly liable to strengthen economic growth. In order to increase the quality of public expenditure in its effect on growth, the emphasis should be on strengthening spending on the above future-proof sectors as well as a more efficient allocation of public funds by way of structural reforms in the public sector.