Taxation with Representation

Abstract

Growing Public: . Social Spending and Economic Growth Since the Eighteenth Century. By Peter H. Lindert Volume 1, The Story . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004. 396 pp. $65, £42.50. ISBN 0-521-82174-6. Paper, $24.99, £17.99. ISBN 0-521-52916-6. Volume 2, Further Evidence . 240 pp. $75, £50. ISBN 0-521-82175-4. In this exploration of the evolution of social spending, the author shows that, contrary to common claims, taxes and transfers contribute to rather than inhibit economic growth.