This paper provides new evidence for the empirical literature that investigates the presence of political cycles in fiscal policy and, more precisely, public investments in Brazil. The approach differs from most of the studies for applying the state-space modeling. The greatest benefit is to...

We study the strategic incentives of regional governments to allocate their budget to public investment and to public consumption expenditures against the background of an incentive-compatible redistribution policy set by the central government. Regional investment changes the productivity...

It is by now a widely shared insight that fiscal policy needs to be re-strengthened as a macroeconomic policy instrument within European macroeconomic policies: Recent experiences with austerity policies, new research regarding the size of the fiscal multiplier and the fact that monetary policy...

Consumers should pay directly for many services furnished by the public sector, particularly such congestible services as roads or water and sewerage provided to easily identifiable users. However, these goods are often funded or partly subsidized through general taxes. Politicians seldom opt...

Recent studies have found that resource-rich low-income countries are better off investing their resource revenues domestically rather than saving them abroad in a sovereign wealth fund (SWF). This paper finds an optimal rule-based policy of accumulating public capital and its associated public...

We study the impacts of public investment, notably in construction and in R&D on economic growth and of crowding-out effects on private investment. For this purpose, we use Panel Vector Autoregression (PVAR) models and the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) approach for 40 advanced and emerging...

Fiscal rules are a frequent policy measure to restrict deficit-taking among incumbent politicians. In times of increased and sustained investment needs to mitigate the consequences of climate change, and to promote the digital and structural transformation, fiscal rules have become subject to...

We analyse the impacts that infrastructure provision has on long run urban development. The topic is of major importance to policy-makers when deciding whether or not to invest in major infrastructure projects. The analysis helps policy-makers to understand the intended, and potentially...

The paper examines the politics of infrastructure in the post-privatisation era. It shows the tensions between the interests of private investors and the expectations of the citizenry for the assembly of a raft of capital assets that collectively underpin the operation of liveable sustainable...