Research Article Published 31 January 2021

Malaysian Public Sector Size: A Comparison with Other ASEAN Countries

How to Cite

How to Cite

Amran, N. A., Ahmad, H. @ N., & Hassan, N. L. (2021). Malaysian Public Sector Size: A Comparison with Other ASEAN Countries. Journal of Business Management and Accounting, 11(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.32890/jbma2021.11.1.1
Noor Afza Amran
Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia
Halimah @ Nasibah Ahmad
Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia
Nor Laili Hassan
Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia
Full text
PDF View full text 836 KB · 20 pages XML JATS full text 56 KB · machine readable HTML Read online 41 KB
DOI 10.32890/jbma2021.11.1.1 Cite this article
Share this article
Citations
6
OpenCitations, highest of the sources checked
Reads
1,041 +3
Abstract + full text
Downloads
1,828 +2
PDF and XML
Percentile
91th
By citations, works of the same year

Article

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the size of the public sector (based on percentage of public sector expenditures to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and percentage of public sector revenues to GDP) of Malaysia and compare it with other Associations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. This study utilised a descriptive approach to compare the size of Malaysian public sector with other ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). The data were retrieved from 2000 to 2014 (15 years) that involved examination of documents from Key Indicators of Developing Asian and Pacific Countries Reports. Findings revealed that Malaysia ranks number three in terms of the size of public sector among ASEAN countries. Findings also indicated that the Malaysian percentage of public sector expenditure to GDP is around 20% to 30% which is considered as optimal size for the public sector. Malaysia also shows a deficit budget for 2000 to 2014, and similar trends were reported for other ASEAN countries. Meanwhile, the limitations of this study are that it is descriptive in nature and does not test any relationships between variables. Hence, future research may take into account other factors such as economic growth and government efficiency, and test relationships with the size of the public sector.

Keywords
Public sector government size Malaysia ASEAN

Metrics & impact

Citations by source

Harvested 13-09-2026

Counts differ by index because each source crawls a different corpus. Crossref counts only registered reference lists; Google Scholar includes theses, preprints and grey literature.

OpenCitations
6
Open references only View →
OpenAlex
5
Open corpus, updated daily View →
Crossref
5
Deposited reference lists only View →
Scopus
0 Not indexed
Indexed titles only View →
Google Scholar
Publishes no citation count that can be read automatically.
Includes theses and preprints Search →
Dimensions
Publishes no citation count that can be read automatically.
Includes policy documents Search →

Citations over time

New citations recorded in each year, as reported by OpenAlex.

2
0
2
1
0
2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Reads & downloads

Abstract views 1,041
PDF downloads 1,828
XML downloads 0
Full-text HTML 0
Counted under COUNTER Release 5 rules; known robots excluded.

Attention beyond citation

Citation percentile 91th
Field-weighted citation impact 0.98
Works this article cites 20

From OpenAlex. A field-weighted impact of 1.00 is the world average for work of the same field, type and year. No Altmetric key is configured, so news, policy and social attention are not shown.

Identifiers
DOI · 10.32890/jbma2021.11.1.1
OpenAlex · W3148995017

References

References 34
Deposited to Crossref with the article DOI
  1. Alberto, A., & Wacziarg. R. (1998). Openness, country size, and government. Journal of Public Economics, 69(3), 305-321.
  2. Alesina, A., & Perotti, R. (1996). Budget deficits and budget institutions. US: National Bureau of Economic Research.
  3. Asian Development Bank (2019). Key indicators database. Retrieved from https://kidb.adb.org/ kidb/.
  4. Berry, W. D., & Lowery, D. (1984). The measurement of government size: Implication for the study of government growth. The Journal of Politics, 46, 1193-1206.
  5. Bhattarai, K. (2010). Taxes, public spending, and economic growth in OECD countries. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 8(1), 14-30.
  6. Borre, O., & Viegas, J. M. (1995). The scope of government: 9 government intervention in the economy. US: Oxford University Press.
  7. Brown, C. V., & Jackson, P. M. L. (1986). Public sector economics (3rd ed.). Oxford: Basil Blackwell Limited.
  8. Chelliah, R. J. (1975). Trends in taxation in developing countries. In R. M. Bird, & O. Oldman, Readings on taxation in developing countries. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
  9. Di Matteo, L. (2016). Does the size of government affect economic performance? Absolutely. US: Fraser Institute.
  10. DiPeitro, W. R., & Anoruo, E. (2012). Government size, public debt, and real economic growth: A panel analysis. Journal of Economic Studies, 39(4), 410-419.
  11. El-Husseiny, I. (2019). The optimal size of government in Egypt: An empirical investigation. The Journal of North African Studies, 24(2), 271-299.
  12. Facchini, F., & Melki, M. (2011). Optimal government size and economic growth in France (1871-2008): An explanation by the State and Market failures. Retrieved from https://halshs.a rchives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00654363.
  13. Ghali, K. H. (1998). Public investment and private capital formation in a vector, error-correction model of growth. Applied Economics, 30(6), 837-844.
  14. Gupta, S., Leruth, L., De Mello, L. R., & Chakravarti, S. (2003). Transition economies: How appropriate is the size and scope of government? Comparative Economic Studies, 45(40), 554-576.
  15. Hinrichs, H. H. (1966). A general theory of tax structure change during economic development. Cambridge: Harvard Law School.
  16. Katsimi, M. (1998). Explaining the size of public sector. Public Choice, 96, 117-144.
  17. Lee, C. L. (2005). Income inequality, democracy and public sector size. American Sociological Review, 70(Feb), 158-181.
  18. Meltzer, A. H., & Richard, S. F. (1981). A rational theory of the size of government. Journal of Political Economy, 89(5), 914-927. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1830813.
  19. Mikesell, J. E. (2011). Fiscal administration: Analysis and applications for the public sector (9th ed.). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning
  20. Ministry of Finance Malaysia (2016). Economic data. Retrieved from http://www.treasury.gov.m y/index.php/en/economy/ economic-data.html.
  21. Mithani, D. M., & Khoon, G. S. (1999). Causality between government expenditures and revenues in Malaysia: A seasonal cointegration test. ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 16(1), 68-79.
  22. Nik Rosnah, W. A. (2010). Public Sector Reform in Malaysia – Addressing the Inequalities. Retrieved from http://eprints. um.edu.my/11315/1/Rosnah_Wan_Abdullah_WG111.pdf
  23. Persson, T., & Tabellini, G. (1995). Handbook of international economics. Double-edged incentives: Institutions and policy coordination, 3, 1973-2030. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1573-4404(05)80018-8.
  24. Ramirez, B., & Pooittiwong, A. (2016). ASEAN economic integration: Opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Retrieved from https://intpolicydigest.org/2016/01/06/asean-economic-integration-opportunities-and-challenges-that-lie-ahead/
  25. Shumaila, Z. & Abdul, Q. (2014). An analysis of optimal government size for growth: A case study of Pakistan. Retrieved from https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/58989/1/MPRA_paper_5 8989.pdf.
  26. Siti Alida, J. A., & Halimah, N. A. (2001). Penilaian saiz sektor awam di Malaysia semenjak Dasar Ekonomi Baru dan perbandingan dengan beberapa buah negara [Public sector size evaluation in Malaysia since the New Economic Policy and comparison with several countries]. School of Social Development, Universiti Utara Malaysia.
  27. Smith, P. (2018). Getting the tax-to-GDP ratio right. Retrieved from https://www.accaglobal.com/us/en/member/member/ accounting-business/2018/01/insights/tax -gdp.html.
  28. Stein, E. (1998). Fiscal decentralisation and government size in Latin America. Working Paper No. 368, Office of the Chief Economist, Inter-American Development Bank.
  29. Statistics Sweden (2006). Public Finance in Sweden. Retrieved from www.scb.sè/statistik_publik ationer/OE0903_2004AO1_ BR_07_OEO6SA0602.pdf.
  30. Sugua, M. (2017). An analysis on the size of government in Malaysia. Retrieved from https://ww w.academia.edu/5140736/ Govermnent_Size_-_Malaysia.
  31. Syed Soffian, S. I., Engku Ismail, E. A., Faudziah Hanim, H. F., & Hassan, H. (2011). Public sector accounting and financial management in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Pearson Custom Publishing.
  32. The Star Says (2017, 5 February). An effective civil service does not burden Govt. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com.my/ opinion/columnists/the-star-says/2017/02/05/an-effective-civil-service-does-not-burden-govt.
  33. Vinayak, H. V., Thompson, F., & Tonby, O. (2014). Understanding ASEAN: Seven things you need to know. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/ our-insights/understanding-asean-seven-things-you-need-to-know.
  34. Wood, J. (2017). What is ASEAN? Retrieved from https://www. weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/wh at-is-asean-explainer/.

Most read articles by the same author(s)