§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Prime Minister if she will estimate the number of jobs directly and indirectly created for each £1 billion spent in the following areas (a) education, (b) health service, (c) construction and (d) defence.
§ The Prime MinisterThe number of jobs directly created by additional public expenditure depends on the form of that expenditure as much as on the area in which it is spent. The indirect effect of creating additional jobs in the public sector would be to crowd out jobs in the private sector. Increased public expenditure can provide no lasting stimulus to aggregate employment and output—in the long term the reverse is the case.