Making the Most of Public Investment in a Tight Fiscal Environment

This report provides an overview of challenges met in the recovery and highlights good practices and lessons learned, focusing on eight country cases: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United States.



How to make the most of public investment? This question is critical in today’s tight fiscal environment. Given that sub-national governments in OECD countries carry out more than two thirds of total capital investment, they have played a key role in executing national stimulus packages during the global crisis. The effectiveness of recovery strategies based on public investment thus depends largely on the arrangements between levels of government to design and implement the investment mix.

As stimulus packages are being phased out since 2010, many countries have moved toward fiscal consolidation and targeted public investment as an adjustment variable. Co-ordination between levels of government was essential to implement recovery measures, and it is equally important to better prioritise reduced public investment and make the most of it for sustainable growth.

Table of contents
Executive Summary
Part I Comparative overview: challenges and lessons
Introduction
I.1. A critical role for sub-national governments during the recovery.
I.2 Managing investment across levels of government: key challenges
I.3. Overcoming obstacles to implementation: the need for co-ordination
I.4. Making the most of public investment in times of austerity
Notes
Bibliography
Part II Country cases
Chapter 1. Australia
Macro dimension
Design of the public investment measures
Implementation of the public investment scheme
Obstacles and co-ordination challenges across levels of government – lessons learned?
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 2. Canada
Macro dimension
Design of the public investment scheme
Implementation of the public investment scheme
Main obstacles and co-ordination challenges across levels of government – learned?
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 3 France
Macro dimension
Design of the public investment scheme
Implementation of the public investment scheme
Obstacles and co-ordination challenges across levels of government – lessons learned?
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 4. Germany
Macro dimension
Design of the public investment scheme
Implementation of the public investment scheme
Main obstacles and co-ordination challenges across levels of government – lessons learned?
Lessons learned
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 5. Korea
Macro dimension
Design of the public investment scheme
Implementation of the public investment scheme
Main obstacles and co-ordination challenges across levels of government – lessons learned?
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 6. Spain
Macro dimension
Design of the public investment measures
Implementation of the public investment scheme
Main obstacles and co-ordination challenges across levels of government
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 7. Sweden
Macro dimension
Design of the public investment scheme
Implementation of the public investment scheme
Main obstacles and co-ordination challenges across levels of government – lessons learned?
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 8. United States
Macro dimension
Design of the public investment scheme
Implementation of the public investment scheme
Obstacles and co-ordination challenges across levels of government – lessons learned?
Notes
Bibliography