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Government at a Glance 2011

image of Government at a Glance 2011

This second edition of Government at a Glance more than doubles the number of available indicators of OECD governments’ performance. The indicators compare the political and institutional frameworks of government across OECD countries as well as government revenues and expenditures, employment, and compensation. They also include indicators describing government policies and practices on integrity, e-government and open government, and introduce several composite indexes summarising key aspects of public management practices in human resources management, budgeting, procurement, and regulatory management. For each figure, the book provides a dynamic link (StatLink) which direct the user to a web page where corresponding data are available in Excel® format. The report also offers two special chapters, on leveraged governance and on the policy implications of fiscal consolidation.

The 58 data sets of member and partner countries in this 2011 edition of Government at a Glance include the first ever international comparison of public sector pay for selected professions and public service occupations, which points to a fairly egalitarian pay structure in the public sector;  estimations of country-specific fiscal consolidation requirements, which have been found to be large in many countries; the level of disclosure of private interests in the three branches of government; and  the implementation gap of Open Government policies to promote transparency, efficiency and trust.

English Also available in: Spanish, French, Chinese

General government expenditures

Governments spend money to provide goods and services and redistribute income. Like government revenues, government expenditures reflect historical and current political decisions but are also highly sensitive to economic developments. General government spending as a share of GDP and per person provide an indication of the size of the government across countries. However, the large variation in these ratios highlights different approaches to delivering public goods and services and providing social protection, not necessarily differences in resources spent. For instance, if support is given via tax breaks rather than direct expenditures, expenditure/GDP ratios will naturally be lower. In addition, it is important to note that the size of expenditures does not reflect government efficiency or productivity.

English Also available in: French

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