7 Thinking globally . What kinds of country-specifi c infl uences might explain the great diversity in government spending as a share of GDP among industrial nations? Choose two countries with very diverse spending patterns and offer some possible explanations for the difference.

1 How many levels of government will there be?
2 How much autonomy will each level have?
3 To what degree will functions and revenue sources be separated by levels of government, and to what degree will they overlap and require coordination?