Two well established stylized facts of economic development are a strong correlation between investment and income, and large differences in investment rates across countries. Construction is the largest component of investment. This paper examines the implications of heterogeneity in...

This paper addresses the implications of transitory changes in labor market conditions for low versus high educated workers on the decision to acquire education. To identify this effect, I use the improvement in the labor market prospects of low educated workers motivated by the increases in...

This paper explores the procurement of public buildings in local authorities in the UK under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and its consequences for small and medium sized enterprises. Following an outline of the development of PFI in the UK, the paper explains the peculiarities of local...

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the poorest countries in the World. The construction sector will play an essential part to bring the country on the path of economic growth, and competition within the sector is crucial to achieve this goal. In this paper we analyze the effect of...

This paper presents the services trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) for construction, architecture and engineering services. The STRIs are composite indices taking values between zero and one, zero representing an open market and one a market completely closed to foreign services providers....

Ongoing pressure on prices for construction projects adds to the significance of cost estimation accuracy in building construction. Due to competition from Asian entrants, main contractors in the plant engineering industry are starting to face a similar situation. In the present paper, the cost...

Contracts should be matched to the unique situation of a Major Industrial Plant Project (MIPP). However, in reality, oftentimes contract forms are chosen that do not fit participant's (owners', contractors') competences and risk capabilities. In this paper, MIPP order contract forms are...

Rapid urbanisation and economic growth will increase the demand for adequate housing in Indian cities. Mass housing projects can help cater to this need. However, building mass housing using conventional technology is slow, lacks quality and is detrimental for the environment. In contrast, more...

As it transitions to an oil-producing country, Uganda's investments in infrastructure and physical capital will increasingly depend on the ability of the construction sector to respond to surges in demand and transform investment effort into outcomes. Using administrative and survey data, this...