Is Large Government Bad for Growth?

Readers Question: I have an essay thats due soon and its about the size of the government. Is large government bad for growth? to what extent does empirical evidence support this assertion?
Please help me answer this question by giving me guidelines to follow.

I answered part of this question here on the Rahn curve

Start off with empirical evidence, saying how some people think there is a link. Possibly giving a a few reason. There are some empirical evidence in various reports, follow link at bottom of post.

Then you need to evaluate the theory.

There are many difficulties with proving this assertion

• Ideological bias in people who conduct surveys
• The many different factors that can cause economic growth apart from size of government
• Conflicting evidence.
• Cause and Effect. Just because a country with small economy has fast growth it doesn’t mean that the small size is the cause of the faster growth. Perhaps countries with slower growth need more government intervention to overcome market failure.
• It depends on the type of government spending.
• The Soviet Union experienced very high growth rates in the 1930s. This was despite it being a Communist economy, with nearly 100% state intervention.