Public Investment as an Engine of Growth

Public Investment as an Engine of Growth PDF Author: Mr. Andrew M. Warner
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498395724
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
This paper looks at the empirical record whether big infrastructure and public capital drives have succeeded in accelerating economic growth in low-income countries. It looks at big long-lasting drives in public capital spending, as these were arguably clear and exogenous policy decisions. On average the evidence shows only a weak positive association between investment spending and growth and only in the same year, as lagged impacts are not significant. Furthermore, there is little evidence of long term positive impacts. Some individual countries may be exceptions to this general result, as for example Ethiopia in recent years, as high public investment has coincided with high GDP growth, but it is probably too early to draw definitive conclusions. The fact that the positive association is largely instantaneous argues for the importance of either reverse causality, as capital spending tends to be cut in slumps and increased in booms, or Keynesian demand effects, as spending boosts output in the short run. It argues against the importance of long term productivity effects, as these are triggered by the completed investments (which take several years) and not by the mere spending on the investments. In fact a slump in growth rather than a boom has followed many public capital drives of the past. Case studies indicate that public investment drives tend eventually to be financed by borrowing and have been plagued by poor analytics at the time investment projects were chosen, incentive problems and interest-group-infested investment choices. These observations suggest that the current public investment drives will be more likely to succeed if governments do not behave as in the past, and instead take analytical issues seriously and safeguard their decision process against interests that distort public investment decisions.

Public Investment as an Engine of Growth

Public Investment as an Engine of Growth PDF Author: Mr. Andrew M. Warner
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498395724
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 76

Get Book

Book Description
This paper looks at the empirical record whether big infrastructure and public capital drives have succeeded in accelerating economic growth in low-income countries. It looks at big long-lasting drives in public capital spending, as these were arguably clear and exogenous policy decisions. On average the evidence shows only a weak positive association between investment spending and growth and only in the same year, as lagged impacts are not significant. Furthermore, there is little evidence of long term positive impacts. Some individual countries may be exceptions to this general result, as for example Ethiopia in recent years, as high public investment has coincided with high GDP growth, but it is probably too early to draw definitive conclusions. The fact that the positive association is largely instantaneous argues for the importance of either reverse causality, as capital spending tends to be cut in slumps and increased in booms, or Keynesian demand effects, as spending boosts output in the short run. It argues against the importance of long term productivity effects, as these are triggered by the completed investments (which take several years) and not by the mere spending on the investments. In fact a slump in growth rather than a boom has followed many public capital drives of the past. Case studies indicate that public investment drives tend eventually to be financed by borrowing and have been plagued by poor analytics at the time investment projects were chosen, incentive problems and interest-group-infested investment choices. These observations suggest that the current public investment drives will be more likely to succeed if governments do not behave as in the past, and instead take analytical issues seriously and safeguard their decision process against interests that distort public investment decisions.

Public Investment and Regional Economic Development

Public Investment and Regional Economic Development PDF Author: Daniel Felsenstein
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781782543121
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
'Public Investment and Regional Economic Development is a very interesting and stimulating reading for policymakers and anyone doing research in this area.' - Adelheid Holl, Environment and Planning C: Government and Planning The relationship between public investment and regional economic development is of perennial interest and is particularly topical now as issues of infrastructure and innovation are high on policy agendas in many countries. Public investment is often viewed as a possible method for 'jump-starting' lagging regional economies and also as a requirement for the continued development of more prosperous regions. Public Investment and Regional Economic Development provides a systematic analysis of the complex relationship between public investment and regional economic development. The authors offer new insights into the key issues of regional growth, and present a broad variety of perspectives ranging from transport and housing infrastructure through to human capital and innovation.

Some Misconceptions about Public Investment Efficiency and Growth

Some Misconceptions about Public Investment Efficiency and Growth PDF Author: Mr.Andrew Berg
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1513589970
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 37

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Book Description
We reconsider the macroeconomic implications of public investment efficiency, defined as the ratio between the actual increment to public capital and the amount spent. We show that, in a simple and standard model, increases in public investment spending in inefficient countries do not have a lower impact on growth than in efficient countries, a result confirmed in a simple cross-country regression. This apparently counter-intuitive result, which contrasts with Pritchett (2000) and recent policy analyses, follows directly from the standard assumption that the marginal product of public capital declines with the capital/output ratio. The implication is that efficiency and scarcity of public capital are likely to be inversely related across countries. It follows that both efficiency and the rate of return need to be considered together in assessing the impact of increases in investment, and blanket recommendations against increased public investment spending in inefficient countries need to be reconsidered. Changes in efficiency, in contrast, have direct and potentially powerful impacts on growth: “investing in investing” through structural reforms that increase efficiency, for example, can have very high rates of return.

Public Investment Criteria

Public Investment Criteria PDF Author: Stephen A. Marglin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Capital investments
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
Essay on public investment criteria and the role of cost benefit analysis in the implementation of economic planning for economic development in India - criteria include consumption benefits, costs, time factor, interest, budgetary constraints, risk and dynamics. References pp. 100 and 101.

Public Investment as an Engine of Growth

Public Investment as an Engine of Growth PDF Author: Mr.Andrew M. Warner
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498378277
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
This paper looks at the empirical record whether big infrastructure and public capital drives have succeeded in accelerating economic growth in low-income countries. It looks at big long-lasting drives in public capital spending, as these were arguably clear and exogenous policy decisions. On average the evidence shows only a weak positive association between investment spending and growth and only in the same year, as lagged impacts are not significant. Furthermore, there is little evidence of long term positive impacts. Some individual countries may be exceptions to this general result, as for example Ethiopia in recent years, as high public investment has coincided with high GDP growth, but it is probably too early to draw definitive conclusions. The fact that the positive association is largely instantaneous argues for the importance of either reverse causality, as capital spending tends to be cut in slumps and increased in booms, or Keynesian demand effects, as spending boosts output in the short run. It argues against the importance of long term productivity effects, as these are triggered by the completed investments (which take several years) and not by the mere spending on the investments. In fact a slump in growth rather than a boom has followed many public capital drives of the past. Case studies indicate that public investment drives tend eventually to be financed by borrowing and have been plagued by poor analytics at the time investment projects were chosen, incentive problems and interest-group-infested investment choices. These observations suggest that the current public investment drives will be more likely to succeed if governments do not behave as in the past, and instead take analytical issues seriously and safeguard their decision process against interests that distort public investment decisions.

The Power of Public Investment Management

The Power of Public Investment Management PDF Author: Kai Kaiser
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464803161
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
Public resources - if invested well in public infrastructure and services - can catalyze private and community efforts and unleash an inclusive growth and development process. But public investment attracts political interest, usually of the kind that undermines efficiency. Too often public projects are poorly designed, under-funded, long-delayed, or badly implemented, with little benefit to the population. This is a critical challenge for many countries, both rich and poor. Paradoxically, some countries are even unable to spend their limited investment budgets while others lack “shovel ready” projects for a fiscal stimulus. The quality of institutions is fundamental. This book identifies eight key institutional features that countries need to adopt to ensure that public investments support growth and development. Very broadly, the eight stages correspond to a disciplined system for guiding, appraising, reviewing and selecting projects that are most likely to stimulate inclusive development, and following through to ensure that they are implemented, adjusted, operated and evaluated to deliver the public services that citizens and the private sector expect. A review of over 30 countries suggests that these eight features are present in all countries that manage resources efficiently but most countries are missing key features. Not surprisingly, those weaknesses contribute to poor investment and development outcomes. Strengthening institutions for public investment management is critical to developmental success. This book provides a clear, non-technical discussion on approaches to improving project appraisal, dealing with uncertainty (an issue that is likely to grow in importance with the effects of climate change), integrating procurement skills into project design and implementation, and of managing the decision on public private partnerships. By providing a simple but comprehensive framework and global experience, the book provides policy makers the guidance to adopt good functional principles in the design of institutions to strengthen public investment management.

Public Capital and Growth

Public Capital and Growth PDF Author: Mr.Serkan Arslanalp
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1455201863
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
This paper estimates the impact of public capital on economic growth for forty-eight OECD and non-OECD countries during 1960 - 2001. Using the production function and its extensions, it finds a positive - but concave - elasticity of output with respect to public capital, which is robust to changes in time intervals and varying depreciation rates. Furthermore, in non-OECD countries the growth impact of public capital is higher once longer time intervals are considered.

Private Investment and Economic Growth in Developing Countries

Private Investment and Economic Growth in Developing Countries PDF Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451965249
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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Book Description
Despite the growing support for market-oriented strategies, and for a greater role of private investment, empirical growth models for developing countries typically make no distinction between the private and public components of investment. This paper sheds some light on this important issue by formulating a simple growth model that separates the effects of public sector and private sector investment. This model is estimated for a cross - section sample of 24 developing countries, and the results support the notion that private investment has a larger direct effect on growth than does public investment.

The Role of Public Investment in Promoting Economic Growth

The Role of Public Investment in Promoting Economic Growth PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Financial Services
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Economic development
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description


Making Public Investment More Efficient

Making Public Investment More Efficient PDF Author:
Publisher: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
ISBN: 9781498344630
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
Public investment supports the delivery of key public services, connects citizens and firms to economic opportunities, and can serve as an important catalyst for economic growth. After three decades of decline, public investment has begun to recover as a share of GDP in emerging markets (EMs) and low income developing countries (LIDCs), but remains at historic lows in advanced economies (AEs). The increase in public investment in EMs and LIDCs has led to some convergence between richer and poorer countries in the quality of and access to social infrastructure (e.g., schools and hospitals), and, to a lesser extent, economic infrastructure (e.g., roads and electricity). However, the economic and social impact of public investment critically depends on its efficiency. Comparing the value of public capital (input) and measures of infrastructure coverage and quality (output) across countries reveals average inefficiencies in public investment processes of around 30 percent. The economic dividends from closing this efficiency gap are substantial: the most efficient public investors get twice the growth “bang” for their public investment “buck” than the least efficient.