12/11/2005 4:40:19 pm
A Big State = Unhappy People. In the current domestic debate, there are voices claiming that economic growth doesn?t make people happy, but that a big state does. In a new Working Paper from WIF Institute of Economic Research, three scientists claim the opposite. This is the abstract of the paper:

"This paper empirically analyzes the question whether government involvement in the economy is conducive or detrimental to life satisfaction in a cross-section of 74 countries. This provides a test of a longstanding dispute between standard neoclassical economic theory, which predicts that government plays an unambiguously positive role for individuals? quality of life, and public choice theory, that was developed to understand why governments often choose excessive involvement and regulation, thereby harming voters? quality of life. Our results show that life satisfaction decreases with higher government spending. This negative impact of the government is stronger in countries with a leftwing median voter. It is alleviated by government effectiveness - but only in countries where the state sector is already small."

I can bet anything that none of these tax-funded so-called scientists in Sweden will ever mention this. It simply doesn?t fit into their ideological agenda, which is to increase the size of the state. Nevertheless, it is a very interesting study with robust results that we should learn from. Those who say that freedom doesn?t lead to happiness and that the state should run people?s lives instead are totally wrong. Freedom leads to happiness.

Read the Working Paper here - >