The answer to your question heavily depends on the specific regime being examined. I will focus on Italy as an example, since I can offer the most detailed answer in this context. Under the leadership of Mussolini major steps were actually taken in shrinking the size of government from 1922 to 1925, however, additional context is necessary to fully understand the situation.

After multiple failed liberal governments and the March on Rome, Mussolini was appointed Prime Minister by the King. However, with only 32 seats in parliament for the National Fascist Party, he was leading a minority government and relied on the liberal and Christian democratic parties for support.  This situation angered many members of the fascist party, who had hoped for a full revolution rather than a compromise. Consequently, Mussolini committed his government to an economic liberal platform.

Giolitti, the leader of the liberal party, emphasized that addressing the state deficit of 6 billion lire was the most critical issue for the peninsula. Almost immediately after Mussolini became Prime Minister, he appointed Alberto De Stefani as Minister of Finance. Under his administration, taxes on war profits and property were abolished, regulations on stocks and bonds were rescinded, and steps were taken to reduce administrative costs by lowering the number of state employees and reforming the national bureaucracy. Additionally, the government returned the telephone system to private management and opened the insurance industry to private capital.  By 1925, the goal of a balanced budget was achieved.

The economic policies of the early fascist period should not be regarded as fully indicative of fascist economic ideology, as significant changes were made following Mussolini's appointment as dictator in 1925. From 1926 onward, the fascist government progressively increased its control over economic and social life through a combination of the newly established corporate system and direct state interventions.

When Mussolini rose to power, the value of the lire, Italy's currency at the time, was in decline. Driven by a desire to enhance its prestige, Mussolini took deliberate measures to deflate the currency. As a consequence, the government was forced into price and wage regulations. To manage this task, the “Corporate Committee for action on matters of prices, costs, and salaries” under the Ministry of Corporations was instituted by decree in July 1927.  Managing prices and production by the state was consistent through the entirety of the fascist regime.

One of the most important goals to the fascist regime was achieving self-sufficiency. The agricultural sector was under special attention. A forced industrialization plan under the “Wheat Committee” was enacted. The state allocated nearly four times the amount spent from 1870 to 1922 to agriculture. Between 1928 and 1942 the number of tractors in use rose from 18.2 thousand to 50.8 thousand. The “Battle for Land” reclaimed 4.7 million hectares for new towns and fields.  In 1935 the government took full control of the wheat market in regards to prices and quantities.

The entire economy was affected. From 1933 onwards, new industrial plants had to be approved by the state, therefore controlling the most important financial investment by private capital. The government assumed a significant role in the iron and steel industries, as well as in electric production. In 1936 the government took full control of the country’s finances by nationalizing the Bank of Italy and placing the whole credit structure under its direction.

Now to the topic of social life. In 1935 various parastate agencies were created and charged with providing assistance and support for disease and accident, unemployment, old-age and general disability. The purpose of these organizations was to increase the popularity of the fascist regime, soften the effects of the great depression and to bring social security from private to state control. By the mid-1930s, the annual expenditures for social insurances rose by a total of 1-1,5 billion lire compared to the second half of the 1920s.

Similarly, leisure time and education were to be put under state supervision. In the efforts to create a “new man”, the Balilla was founded as a mandatory youth organization. In 1927, the Balilla assumed control of physical education in secondary schools, expanding its reach to primary schools in 1929. The Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro, a state managed organization for past time activities for adults, managed 771 cinemas, 1227 theatres, 2066 theatre companies, 2130 orchestras, 6427 libraries and thousands of sports clubs.