Asymmetric Effects of Trade Openness and National Income on Government Size in BRICS Countries: New Evidence for Wagner’s Law

The growing economic prominence of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has attracted considerable attention to the macroeconomic dynamics driving their development. As these economies grow rapidly and become more integrated into global markets, it becomes increasingly dif...

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Main Authors: Дхиани Мехта, Никундж Патель
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch 2024-12-01
Series:Экономика региона
Online Access:https://economyofregions.org/ojs/index.php/er/article/view/806
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author Дхиани Мехта
Никундж Патель
author_facet Дхиани Мехта
Никундж Патель
author_sort Дхиани Мехта
collection DOAJ
description The growing economic prominence of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has attracted considerable attention to the macroeconomic dynamics driving their development. As these economies grow rapidly and become more integrated into global markets, it becomes increasingly difficult to balance economic growth, trade liberalization, and sustainable fiscal policies. Government size, a key factor in fiscal management, tends to increase with national income (as suggested by Wagner’s Law) and in response to trade openness (as outlined by the Compensation Hypothesis). Understanding these dynamics is crucial due to the unique fiscal pressures and global competitiveness faced by BRICS countries. This study investigates the validity of Wagner’s law and the Compensation Hypothesis in the context of BRICS. Using a panel nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model on annual panel data from 1999 to 2023, our findings confirm Wagner’s law, showing a positive relationship between economic growth and government size. Additionally, the results support the Compensation Hypothesis, indicating that trade openness enhances government size. This study underscores the potential trade-offs between promoting economic growth and trade liberalization, as these strategies may inadvertently expand the government sector and affect fiscal stability. As BRICS economies continue to integrate into global markets, this research contributes to the discussion on Wagner’s law and trade openness, offering new insights into sustainable fiscal policies, government expenditure optimization, and the pursuit of global competitiveness and economic growth within the BRICS framework.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2072-6414
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language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-14c1b610cc4e42c9a4084527bd9d97032025-01-20T08:41:26ZengRussian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Economics of the Ural BranchЭкономика региона2072-64142411-14062024-12-0120410.17059/ekon.reg.2024-4-21Asymmetric Effects of Trade Openness and National Income on Government Size in BRICS Countries: New Evidence for Wagner’s Law Дхиани Мехта 0Никундж Патель 1Pandit Deendayal Energy UniversityNirma University The growing economic prominence of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has attracted considerable attention to the macroeconomic dynamics driving their development. As these economies grow rapidly and become more integrated into global markets, it becomes increasingly difficult to balance economic growth, trade liberalization, and sustainable fiscal policies. Government size, a key factor in fiscal management, tends to increase with national income (as suggested by Wagner’s Law) and in response to trade openness (as outlined by the Compensation Hypothesis). Understanding these dynamics is crucial due to the unique fiscal pressures and global competitiveness faced by BRICS countries. This study investigates the validity of Wagner’s law and the Compensation Hypothesis in the context of BRICS. Using a panel nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model on annual panel data from 1999 to 2023, our findings confirm Wagner’s law, showing a positive relationship between economic growth and government size. Additionally, the results support the Compensation Hypothesis, indicating that trade openness enhances government size. This study underscores the potential trade-offs between promoting economic growth and trade liberalization, as these strategies may inadvertently expand the government sector and affect fiscal stability. As BRICS economies continue to integrate into global markets, this research contributes to the discussion on Wagner’s law and trade openness, offering new insights into sustainable fiscal policies, government expenditure optimization, and the pursuit of global competitiveness and economic growth within the BRICS framework. https://economyofregions.org/ojs/index.php/er/article/view/806
spellingShingle Дхиани Мехта
Никундж Патель
Asymmetric Effects of Trade Openness and National Income on Government Size in BRICS Countries: New Evidence for Wagner’s Law
Экономика региона
title Asymmetric Effects of Trade Openness and National Income on Government Size in BRICS Countries: New Evidence for Wagner’s Law
title_full Asymmetric Effects of Trade Openness and National Income on Government Size in BRICS Countries: New Evidence for Wagner’s Law
title_fullStr Asymmetric Effects of Trade Openness and National Income on Government Size in BRICS Countries: New Evidence for Wagner’s Law
title_full_unstemmed Asymmetric Effects of Trade Openness and National Income on Government Size in BRICS Countries: New Evidence for Wagner’s Law
title_short Asymmetric Effects of Trade Openness and National Income on Government Size in BRICS Countries: New Evidence for Wagner’s Law
title_sort asymmetric effects of trade openness and national income on government size in brics countries new evidence for wagner s law
url https://economyofregions.org/ojs/index.php/er/article/view/806
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AT nikundžpatelʹ asymmetriceffectsoftradeopennessandnationalincomeongovernmentsizeinbricscountriesnewevidenceforwagnerslaw