Wagner’s Law is the first model of public expenditure in the history of public finance. The aim of this article is to assess its empirical evidence in Italy for the period 1960-2008 at a disaggregated level, with a VAR approach. After a brief introduction and a survey of the economic literature on this issue the specifications of Wagner’s Law for some specific public expenditures are estimated. Wagner’s original specification is also estimated. Some notes on the long-term relationship between public spending and national income conclude the paper.
Keywords: Spesa pubblica, crescita economica, Legge di Wagner, serie storiche, radici unitarie, cointegrazione, causalità, politiche di bilancio
Jel Code: E60; H50; H60