Understanding the social state by Emmanuel Saez published by IMF (3/2022).
“Its growth is a puzzle for modern economics but has deep evolutionary roots
The scope and size of government in economic life are at the center of the public policy debate. The most striking evolution has been the enormous growth of government in advanced economies over the 20th century: the size of the government, measured by the proportion of tax revenue to national income, had increased from less than 10 percent at the beginning of the 20th century to levels between 30 percent and 50 percent by 1980. In France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the tax ratio was below 10 percent until World War I, increased until about the late 1970s, and remained largely stable thereafter (Chart 1). The timing and the final levels differ across countries, with France and Sweden stabilizing around 50 percent, the United States around 30 percent, and the United Kingdom around 40 percent…”
