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 USD 1 million of public spending in infrastructure...

In response to the economic fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the European Council agreed on the Next Generation EU (NGEU) instrument. NGEU allows the European Commission to issue debt to finance grants and loans to EU Member States, with the disbursement of funds intended to be...

This paper analyzes the impact of Mapa- Regalías on efficiency in the execution of public investment projects in Colombia. MapaRegalías is an online platform that displays geo-referenced information and data on royalties coming from the extractives sector. The purpose of the platform is to...

We introduce a new suite of macroeconomic models that extend and complement the Debt, Investment, and Growth (DIG) model widely used at the IMF since 2012. The new DIG-Labor models feature segmented labor markets, efficiency wages and open unemployment, and an informal non-agricultural sector....

Bolivia's 'Patriotic Agenda 2025' sets targets for social and economic development propelled by state-led industrialization under a five-year development plan (2016-2020). Large-scale public investment has aimed to fill infrastructure gaps and raise productivity to ensure sustained medium-term...