§ Mr. Radiceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest estimates available to him for: (a) public expenditure in total and (b) as a direct call on resources, excluding transfer payments, expressed as a percentage of GNP for the following countries: the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France, Italy, Sweden, West Germany, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettOther countries, in general, do not use in their national accounts the concepts of the public sector and of total public expenditure which are employed in the United Kingdom.314W International comparisons can be made only on a general Government basis—central and local government plus social security funds—and, in the case of total expenditure, excluding certain transfer payments such as capital grants and net lending. The table below shows figures on this basis for 1973, the latest year for which information is available. Differences between countries are partly due to institutional factors.
GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE AS A PER CENTAGE OF GNP AT MARKET PRICES, 1973 Goods and Services Total Expenditure United Kingdom 23.5 39.9 United States 21.7 32.7 France 16.1 37.3 Italy 17.2* 40.0* Sweden 27.9 46.0 West Germany 21.6 38.4 Belgium 18.2* 39.1* Ireland 20.1 39.4 Netherlands 20.4* 47.5* Denmark 26.6* 41.1* Norway 21.8 46.7 Source: National Accounts of OECD Countries 1962–73.
*Excludes Net purchases of land.