correlations
0.94 spending-unemployment -0.41 spending-purchasing 0.96 taxation-unemployment -0.60 taxation-purchasing
Now I made some faux pas--comparing % of GDP of 1996 with unemployment in 1998. But still, if you look at the taxation burden chart on:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/budget99/guide/guide02.html
You'll notice the G7 data doesn't change that dramatically. Unemployment rates, growth, % of GDP. These don't change that dramatically over time.
Lessons:
-US and Japan are the least socialist. They also have the lowest unemployment figures. Japan is entering its 3rd year of recession-- basically the direct result of government intervention.
-France, Germany, Italy are the most socialist. They typically have double-digit unemployment (in contradiction to the OECD data I found, Germany reportedly has an actual unemployment rate of nearly 11%).
-Canada has grown more and more socialist, and it's unemployment has been 8+% compared to the US's below 5% as of recent year. Canada has been growing slower, and has significantly less purchasing power than the US.
-United Kingdown under Thatcher/Major has been reducing its tax burden. Not surprisingly, it has been outperforming the continent, thought not by all that much.
You can look up the 1997 G7+Russia data on the US State Department:
http://www.state.gov/www/issues/economic/summit/fsg7data97.html
Observe that the more socialist a nation is, the higher its unemployment rate, and in general the less wealthy it is.
-Han
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Stats are taken from:
http://www.oecd.org/publications/figures/pubsec_a.pdf GOVT BURDEN AS % OF GDP
public sector revenue spending employment Canada 42.7 45.8 19.6 1995 France 48.2 51.6 24.9 1996 Germany 45.9 46.6 15.4 1995 Italy 44.5 49.5 16.1 1995 Japan 32.0 28.5 6.0 1995 UK 37.2 42.3 14.1 1994 US 32.1 34.3 13.4 1995 -------------------------------------------- 37.1 38.7
http://www.oecd.org/news_and_events/new-numbers/sur/nw98-119a.htm UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (10/98)
Canada 8.1 France 11.8 Germany 9.3 Italy 12.3 (7/98) Japan 4.2 UK 6.2 (8/98) US 4.6 ------------ 6.7
http://www.oecd.org/std/nahome.htm
1996 PURCHASING POWER
exchange purchasing CANADA 19,330 21,529 FRANCE 26,323 20,533 ITALY 21,127 19,974 JAPAN 36,509 23,235 GERMANY 28,738 21,200
(the 1998 figures favor the US significantly more)
http://www.oecd.org/publications/figures/demo_a.pdf 1996 population figures (in thousands, and in % of G7)
Canada 29,964 ( 4.42%) France 58,380 ( 8.61%) Germany 81,877 (12.08%) Italy 57,473 ( 8.48%) Japan 125,864 (18.57%) UK 58,782 ( 8.67%) US 265,557 (39.17%)