Government Size and Authority

In "Crisis and Leviathan" Robert Higgis points out that the measure of government size should not derive from expenditure, employment, or taxation rates but from authority and how it discourages the private sector to engage in new activities.

The US government hired more and increased investments during economic and political crisis. However, public money injected in the national economy did not prevent businessmen from deciding on how to best allocate resources.

Big Government is about authority. It takes place when public officials accumulate excessive power and this situation does not allow the private sector to participate in economic decision-making process.

As Higgins points out, the source of authority are "executive orders, statutes, court decisions, and the directives of regulatory agencies".

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