evidence: Using public expenditure as a measure of public spending, total public expenditure per person in Northern Ireland in 2015–16 was 10% higher than in Ireland. More recently, it was near par with Ireland. As a part of national output (GDP), government consumption contributed an estimated 45% more, per person, in Northern Ireland than it did in Ireland. But government consumption excludes aspects of spending, like investment in roads and social welfare. [...] The Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool has produced two videos as part of its Civic Space initiative, one which presents pro-Union arguments and another which presents pro-unity arguments. This fact check investigates a claim in the original version of the pro-Union video, which stated, "public spending in Northern Ireland is 45% higher than in Ireland". [...] The source of information in the original 45% claim is an academic paper published in March 2020 by the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland: "The Northern Ireland Economy: Problems and Prospects", written by Professors John FitzGerald and Edgar Morgenroth. In a section comparing the standard of living in Northern Ireland with that of the UK as a whole and Ireland, it states, "Funded by the transfer from central government, public [government] consumption per head in Northern Ireland was 45% higher than in Ireland."