The way in which local public administration (LPA) drives innovation, develops sustainable infrastructure, and supports inclusive industrialization, shapes public perceptions of development and institutional legitimacy. This study analyzes how public investment, trust in municipal organizations,...

This note examines whether public infrastructure investment crowds in private investment in the Western Balkans and how this relationship compares with the EU. Using Eurostat data for 2000-2024 and a sector-level analysis, it finds that higher public infrastructure investment is generally...

This paper investigates how external shocks propagate through fiscal transmission mechanisms in a commodity-dependent economy within a dynamic macroeconomic framework. The study contributes to the literature on macroeconomic fluctuations by examining the interaction between external revenue...

After each economic crisis, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, governments have used public investment as a crucial tool to help economies recover quickly. However, a significant concern is how to structure such investments to meet the intended objectives while avoiding risks during...

This article assesses the potential effects of the macroeconomic rates of return of private and public investment on wage share for 16 OECD countries from 1980 to 2022. Using the macroeconomic rates of return of investments and the wage share at factor cost and at market price, it was possible...

This policy brief presents simulation results regarding the macroeconomic effects of a green EU public investment fund using the macroeconometric simulation model NiGEM. After briefly outlining the investment needs in the EU, we first present results using the standard version of NiGEM. We then...

The trade-off between consistent (rule-based) and optimal fiscal policy became evident in the zero lower bound era. With such low interest rates, the argument goes, optimal fiscal policy required extending debt financed public investment spending. But while fiscal rules ensured consistency, they...

This study estimates the impact of public debt on public investment in Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies. We implement Cross-sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model, which effectively handles cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity, while...

We aim to analyze the potential positive or negative effects of public expenditure on economic growth, as well as their determinants. To this goal, we use a simple theoretical model, which has the specificity to distinguish between public investment and consumption expenditure, and which could...

This paper provides a critical assessment of the new EU fiscal framework, with a focus on its implications for public expenditure on the twin green and digital transition. According to the reformed rules, member states may commit to a package of investment and reform to extend the fiscal...

We assess the relevance of macro rates of return on time-varying fiscal and external sustainability. First, we compute the total public and private macroeconomic rates of return for 16 OECD countries from 1980 to 2022. We find that there is a positive impact of higher investment returns on...

We develop a simple two-period principal-agent model in which a present-biased government, the agent, chooses public investment levels given a deficit rule imposed by the principal. The principal sets a deficit cap to curb current debt-financed consumption. In doing so, it also reduces long-term...

We construct a narrative instrument for government investment from official records in Germany. Using structural vector autoregressions, we document a significant crowding-in of private investment and an output multiplier of roughly 2. Then, we match a New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general...

Developing countries often face a cycle where weak tax compliance limits public goods, cutting incentives to pay taxes. We test whether improved local infrastructure can disrupt this cycle, using a randomized street paving experiment in Acayucan, Mexico. Of 56 eligible street projects, 28 were...

Higher education (HE) funding mechanisms in the European Union (EU) are undergoing substantial reform, with universities facing increasing pressure to improve performance outcomes under constrained public budgets. This study analyses how the design of HE funding mechanisms-specifically, the...

This paper examines the gender-specific effects of exogenous public spending shocks across a global sample using a novel identification strategy and local projections. We distinguish between investment and consumption shocks and further decompose spending by function: education, health, and...

This paper takes stock of the implementation of the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) programme in the euro area four years after its inception, focusing on its principal instrument, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The paper provides an updated quantitative assessment of its past and future...

The purpose of this study is to find out the impact of public investment on private investment in the localities of the Mekong Delta Key Economic Region and the Central Key Economic Region. Using data on public investment (state sector's investment) and private investment (non-state sector's...

This paper examines the macroeconomic returns on public and private investments in 18 advanced economies from 1965 to 2019, using a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) approach. We assess whether higher investment levels drive economic growth and explore the interplay between public and private...

The zero lower bound era introduced a new perspective on the functionality of fiscal rules. With such low interest rates, the argument goes, extending debt financed public investment spending would be reasonable and thus existing fiscal rules too restrictive. Using data of Swiss cantonal public...

A general conception is that investment induces economic growth, but there is still debate over which type of investment contributes more to economic growth. The disaggregation of investment into public and private components allows estimation of the impact of the two types of investments on...

We evaluate the direct employment effect of the public investment in key infrastructure - electricity, roads, schools and hospitals, and water and sanitation. Using rich firm-level panel data from 41 countries over 19 years, we estimate that US$1 million of public spending on infrastructure...

This paper analyzes the growth impact of public and private investment shocks based on a large sample of emerging and developing countries over the period 1980-2021 with a particular focus on the Asian region. We develop new measures of investment shocks based on cyclically adjusted investment...

This paper studies the long-run effects of government-led construction of manufacturing plants on the regions where they were built and on individuals from those regions. Specifically, we examine publicly financed plants built in dispersed locations outside of major urban centers for security...

In the low inflation and low interest rate environment that prevailed over the period 2013-2020, many argued that besides expansionary monetary policy, expansionary fiscal policy could also support central banks' efforts to bring inflation closer to target. During the pandemic, proper alignment...

This technical assistance assessed Uzbekistan’s public investment management practices and their climate sensitivity using the Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA) with the Climate Module (C-PIMA). The assessment found that Uzbekistan has made important progress in strengthening...

Aside from horizontal structural reforms, raising public investment should be a key pillar of Indonesia’s pursuit of its Vision 2045. However, this must be complemented by policies aimed at enhancing the efficiency of public investment, thereby maximizing its impact. Mobilizing additional...

An IMF team found that, compared to the 2017 PIMA results, Burkina Faso has made progress in improving its public investment management system, but this is still insufficient to strengthen PIM efficiency. The assessment conducted during this mission shows an encouraging improvement in PIM...

The Scottish Budget and Spending Review published on 13 January set detailed spending plans for 2026-27, alongside higher-level plans for the following two years for day-to-day (resource) spending and the following three years for investment (capital) spending. Understandably, the Scottish...

This paper examines the effects of public infrastructure spending across Ecuadorian cantons on adequate employment and the multidimensional poverty rate over the period 2008-2022, assessing whether such spending operated as a mechanism of convergence. The analysis is grounded in the hypothesis...