§ Mr. Cohenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of jobs created for the expenditure of £1 billion in (i) defence spending, (ii) public transport, (iii) construction, (iv) health and (v) education.
§ Mr. MajorIrrespective of composition, higher overall public expenditure is unlikely to have any lasting beneficial effect on the level of employment for the economy as a whole. Estimates of the short-run effects are unreliable because they depend critically on the economic model and the underlying assumptions that are used.