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This article aims to describe the financial expenditure associated with the operations and processes of world governments of all levels.

Contents

Size of economic footprint

Services

Goods

Local government

Commonwealth of Nations

United Kingdom

United States

Privatization

See also

External links

United States

All levels

Federal level

Size of economic footprint

The scale to which government should exist and operate in the world is a matter of debate. Government spending in developed countries varies considerably but generally makes up between about 30% and 70% of their GDP. One major exception is the United States, where central government spending takes up less than 20% of GDP.

Services

Government agencies may produce services like:

★ Communications

★ Education (e.g. community college)

★ Emergency services

★ Entertainment (e.g. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

★ Entitlements

★ Financial services

★ Financing

★ Fire fighting

★ Healthcare

★ Insurance

★ Law

★ Law enforcement

★ Police

★ Postal service

★ Transport (e.g. government transportation)

Goods

Government agencies may produce goods like:

★ Coal

★ Electrical infrastructure

★ Oil (e.g. Pemex)

★ Roads, bridges, tunnels

★ Sewers

★ Steel

★ Water infrastructure

Local government

At the level of local government, territorial or other authorities may set up government corporations such as "Local Authority Trading Enterprises" (LATEs).

Commonwealth of Nations

''See also: crown corporation, state-owned enterprises of New Zealand''
In monarchical commonwealth countries country-wide government corporations often use the style "crown corporation". Notable exceptions include both the state-owned enterprises and the crown entities in New Zealand. Examples of crown corporations include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Canada and Air Canada before it underwent privatisation. Cabinet ministers (ministers of the crown) often control the shares in such public corporations.

United Kingdom

''Main article: Departments of the United Kingdom Government''

United States

In the United States, businesses that are government owned include Amtrak and the United States Postal Service. Many states have government owned businesses for operations as well. Generally speaking, a statute passed by a legislature specifically sets up a government owned company in order to undertake a specific public purpose with public funds or public property.

Privatization

''Main article: privatization''
In Japan, Japan Post is partially owned by the government, but is about to get sold to the public during the following years (following 2004). Japan Railway (JR), NTT and Japan Tobacco were formerly owned by the government.

See also

★ Government

★ Government debt

★ Government ownership

★ Public sector

★ State-owned enterprise

External links

United States

All levels

★ Current Report: Financial Report of the United States: Publications & Guidance: Financial Management Service

Federal level

★ Current Report: Combined Statement of Receipts, Outlays, and Balances of the United States Government (Combined Statement): Publications & Guidance: Financial Management Service