Government Efficiency Beyond its Size: Investigating the Evolution of Government Size in Iran from 2005 to 2020

The purpose of this article is studying the trend of changes in government size in Iran and analyze it from the perspective of government efficiency in the light of theoretical literature and to examine empirical comparisons with leading economic countries. The article intends to describe the situation of government size in Iran, to answer the question how the size of government in Iran and its developments can be analyzed? By presenting and comparing government size data in Iran with OECD member countries, high-income countries, high-income middle-income countries and low-income middle-income countries, the article shows that first, the size of public government in Iran has decreased and in contrast to production and supply Direct private goods by the government have been on an upward trend, and secondly, the size of public government, which means exercising sovereign duties and providing public goods in Iran, has become smaller compared to the groups in question. The results of the article show that the size of government in Iran has gone through a trend contrary to the findings of recent studies of political economy to reduce the production of private goods and strengthen the regulatory performance of government and the supply of public goods. The trend of government size changes in Iran in the period under review is consistent with the theoretical requirements of the supply-oriented approach, according to which the change in government size is more a function of government requirements than a demand of citizens.