The Performance of Public Investments During Fiscal Consolidation in Albania

Public Investments are generally accepted as one of the main factors which contribute in the economic growth of a country, despite that several studies bring evidences that these variables are not always strongly correlated to each other. However, the sensitivity of economic growth to Public Investments (PI) and the high level of budget funds spent from governments for capital expenditures have made the issue on PI in general and moreover the factors that influence on PI very important to researchers and public as well. This paper gives a broad insight of public investments performance in developed or developing countries over time, underlining several factors that have assessed this performance, focusing especially on the impact of fiscal consolidation. It brings the views of many authors over the fact whether the governments during fiscal consolidation, in order to control debt stock and the budget balance prefer to cut current expenditures or capital expenditures. Furthermore, it analyses how Albania has reacted during its periods of fiscal consolidation and which has been the behavior of different governments toward PI.