Part 1 of Essay
? Since the 1970's rising public expenditure has become a politically salient issue, with the focus being on the difficulties experienced in trying to control it. In order to answer a question concerning why governments find it hard to control public expenditure it is first necessary to look at the reasons for the growth ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... a growth in public spending can be seen to have occurred is due to Wagner's ‘law of increasing state activity.' Wagner's claim is that as per capita real income increases in particular nations, they will spend a higher proportion of national product through government. As Wagner's reasons for increased public expenditure tend to be centralised around industrialisation and its associated effects it is not surprising to find that he thought the density of urban living would increase social frictions to such an e ....