Issues surrounding size, growth and composition of government expenditure: The case of Zimbabwe (2015 to 2018).

Orthodox public finance literature recognizes the impact that size, growth and composition of government expenditure have to the overall accomplishment of governments’ developmental goals. In most developing nations, government expenditure remains a cause for concern as political administrators tend to disobey principles governing optimal government expenditure through their continued allocation of funds to cost centers of their interest. Employing a content analysis methodology, this study is a synoptic review of the size, growth and composition of Zimbabwean government expenditure from 2015 to 2018 as well as efforts done by the government to arrest related issues. Reform of State-Owned Enterprises, reducing the size of the executive as well as prioritizing health and education sectors are among recommendations that the paper proffers to the government of Zimbabwe as expenditure optimization endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]