To the average Guyanese the image of the government is one of ‘big government.’  In this week’s column I shall start to examine how big this notion of big government held by Guyanese is.  As we are aware from our day-to-day practice government activity enters into almost every dimension of our lives.  The colonial state has always been an omnipresent and intimidating agency and, since Independence it has continued to be authoritarian. This serves to magnify the presence of government in our social consciousness.

Government and the economy

As economists see it, government activity in the economy operates through certain definite channels.  The first of these is through the collection of taxes,…..