HC Deb 11 May 2004 vol 421 cc274-6W
John Mann

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimates are for gross domestic product growth rates for fiscal years 2004–05 and 2005–06 in(a) France, (b) Germany, (c) Japan and (d) the United States. [171357]

Ruth Kelly

HM Treasury does not publish GDP growth forecasts for individual countries other than for the UK. Forecasts for GDP growth in the G7 and Euro area can be found in table B1 of the 2004 Financial Statement and Budget Report.

A number of international agencies, banks and market analysts publish country-specific forecasts. For example, forecasts of GDP growth for France, Germany, Japan and the US can be found in the OECD's Economic Outlook No 74, December 2003, table 1 of the statistical annex.

John Mann

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he expects the size in percentage terms will be of budget deficits in fiscal years(a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 in (i) France, (ii) Germany, (iii) Japan and (iv) the United States. [171358]

Ruth Kelly

HM Treasury does not publish projections of budget deficits for individual countries other than the UK. Projections on a calendar year basis, to 2005, for France, Germany, Japan and the US are available from a number of sources. The latest OECD figures are published in its "Economic Outlook" No. 74, December 2003, table 28 of the statistical annex.

John Mann

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the percentage of the workforce employed in the public sector over the last 20 years in(a) France, (b) Germany, (c) Japan and (d) the United States. [171359]

Ruth Kelly

Definitions of public sector employment vary between countries, but Government employment as a percentage of total employment is a comparable and publicly available indicator. The OECD releases data on Government employment as a percentage of total employment through its Economic Outlook database. Data from 1980 for France, Germany, Japan and the US are presented in the following table.

Government employment, percentage of total employed
Percentage
France Germany Japan US
1980 19.6 14.4 8.8 16.4
1981 20.1 14.6 8.8 16.0
1982 20.5 14.8 8.7 15.9
1983 20.8 15.0 8.6 15.7
1984 21.7 15.0 8.7 15.3
1985 22.0 15.0 8.7 15.3
1986 22.4 14.9 8.5 15.2
1987 22.7 14.9 8.5 15.1
1988 22.5 14.7 8.3 15.1
1989 22.5 14.6 8.1 15.2
1990 22.5 14.2 8.1 15.5
1991 22.8 13.4 8.1 15.8
1992 23.3 13.5 8.1 15.9
1993 24.0 13.4 8.2 15.8
1994 24.1 13.2 8.4 15.7
1995 24.1 12.8 8.3 15.6
1996 24.3 12.7 8.2 15.4
1997 24.1 12.4 8.3 15.2

Government employment, percentage of total employed
Percentage
France Germany Japan US
1998 23.7 12.1 8.3 15.1
1999 23.4 11.1 8.3 15.2
2000 23.0 11.4 8.5 15.2
2001 22.7 11.1 8.4 15.4
2002 22.8 11.1 8.6 15.7
2003 22.9 11.1 8.6 15.6

John Mann

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how income tax receipts as a percentage of the total tax take have varied over the last 20 years in(a) France, (b) Germany, (c) Japan and (d) the United States. [171360]

Ruth Kelly

The OECD publishes figures for "Taxes on personal income as a percentage of total taxation" for each of its member countries, in its annual Revenue Statistics publication (OECD Revenue Statistics 1965–2002, October 2003 edition, p.78, Table 11). A copy of this publication is available in the Library of the House.

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