The national lottery: Public expenditure control and accountability

Abstract

This article examines the policy context for the UK's National Lottery and the implications for public expenditure control. It reviews the ways in which the National Lottery will systematically lead to a substantial shift of incremental public expenditures towards investment in a narrow range of projects. This result raises issues of accountability, because those projects consistently rank low in public opinion polls relative to mainstream public expenditures such as health and education which are not supported by Lottery revenues. In emphasizing the need for research, the case is made for periodic reviews of the sources and uses of Lottery revenues.