Democracia consolidada e tamanho do Estado

Abstract

Democracias consolidadas tendem a ter Estados "fortes". A relação positiva encontrada entre "democracia" e "carga tributária" corrobora esta tese.Consolidated democracy and size of the State. Common sense suggests that the more consolidated democracies and advanced economies tend to be more efficient and produce smaller States. What is observed in practice, however, is a positive correlation between "democratic consolidation" and "tax burden" (as a proxy for "size of Government"). This finding, while not expressing any causal relationship between the two variables, is an evidence that a more republican and democratic State, as defined in Bresser-Pereira, must be able to provide, effectively and efficiently, broader public services with better quality. This is, in consolidated democracies, the State should not be small.Keywords: democratic consolidation; nation-state; economic development; capitalist revolution; politics; size of Government; tax burden. JEL Classification: H10; H11; O43.Por que a política é a mais nobre das profissões? Ora, porque é através dela que a sociedade constrói permanentemente o Estado, instrumento por excelência de ação da sociedade civil, isto é, da nação. Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, em aula proferida na FGV-SP, 2011.