We analyze the welfare multipliers of public spending (the consumption equivalent change in welfare for one dollar change in public spending) in a DSGE model. The welfare multipliers of public infrastructure investment are positive if infrastructure is sufficiently effective. When the medium-term output multipliers are consistent with the empirical estimates (1-1.4), the welfare multiplier is 0.8. That is, a dollar spent by the government for investment raises domestic welfare by equivalent of 0.8 dollars of private consumption. This suggests that the welfare gains of public infrastructure investment, if chosen wisely, may be substantial.

We analyze the welfare multipliers of public spending (the consumption equivalent change in welfare for one dollar change in public spending) in a DSGE model. The welfare multipliers of public infrastructure investment are positive if infrastructure is sufficiently effective. When the medium-term output multipliers are consistent with the empirical estimates (1-1.4), the welfare multiplier is 0.8. That is, a dollar spent by the government for investment raises domestic welfare by equivalent of 0.8 dollars of private consumption. This suggests that the welfare gains of public infrastructure investment, if chosen wisely, may be substantial. --Abstract.

We analyze the welfare multipliers of public spending (the consumption equivalent change in welfare for one dollar change in public spending) in a DSGE model. The welfare multipliers of public infrastructure investment are positive if infrastructure is sufficiently effective. When the medium-term output multipliers are consistent with the empirical estimates (1-1.4), the welfare multiplier is 0.8. That is, a dollar spent by the government for investment raises domestic welfare by equivalent of 0.8 dollars of private consumption. This suggests that the welfare gains of public infrastructure investment, if chosen wisely, may be substantial.

This paper studies the effects of public infrastructure investment policies. A dynamic general equilibrium model where the effective stock of public infrastructure is an input in production is used to analyze the consequences of changing the share of GDP devoted to public investment. Infrastructure has sizable long-run effects on an economy's GDP. The model is solved numerically using parameters from seven Latin American countries. While these countries may be under-investing in infrastructure, it is also shown that too much public investment can be detrimental.

Abstract: This paper provides an overview of the various channels through which public infrastructure may affect growth. In addition to the conventional productivity, complementarity, and crowding-out effects typically emphasized in the literature, the impact of infrastructure on investment adjustment costs, the durability of private capital, and the production of health and education services are also highlighted. Effects on health and education are well documented in a number of microeconomic studies, but macroeconomists have only recently begun to study their implications for growth. Links between health, infrastructure, and growth are illustrated in an endogenous growth model with transitional dynamics, and the optimal allocation of public expenditure is discussed. The concluding section draws implications of the analysis for the design of strategies aimed at promoting growth and reducing poverty.

A framework for the analysis of public investment in the developing world In the past three decades, developing countries have made significant economic and social progress, from improved infant mortality rates to higher life expectancy. Yet, 1.3 billion people continue to live in extreme poverty in the developing world, leading policymakers to place a renewed emphasis on policies that could promote economic efficiency and the productivity of the poor. How should these policies be sequenced and implemented to spur growth? Would a large, front-loaded increase in public infrastructure investment yield the desired growth-promoting effect? Taking a rigorous look at this kind of investment and its outcomes, this book explores the different channels through which public capital in infrastructure may affect growth and human welfare, and develops a series of formal models for understanding how these channels operate. Bringing together a vast amount of research in one unifying framework, Pierre-Richard Agénor finds that in considering investment in infrastructure, a variety of externalities need to be factored into analytical models and introduced in policy debates. Lack of access to infrastructure not only constrains the expansion of markets and private investment, it may also hinder the achievement of health and education targets. Ease of access, conversely, promotes innovation and empowers women by allowing them to reallocate their time to productive uses. Laying a solid foundation of economic facts and ideas, Public Capital, Growth, and Welfare provides a comprehensive look at the critical role of public capital in development.

This paper studies a joint monetary and fiscal policy response to an increase in public infrastructure investment in emerging market economies. I extend the neoclassical growth model to a two-sector open economy setting, and introduce heterogeneous agents to examine the distributional effects of public investment on welfare. My results show that the effects of public infrastructure investment hinge crucially on how the increases in government spending are ultimately financed. Monetary policy without fiscal adjustment for financing infrastructure expansion is inflationary, and has sizable crowding-out effects on private consumption and investment over shorter horizons. Fiscal stabilization policy is critical for the sustainability of rising government spending and price stability. With the joint effort of monetary and fiscal policy, infrastructure investment brings in significant welfare gains to the economy. Public investment has major distributional effects across agents, and the choice of fiscal instruments matters both quantitatively and qualitatively. Saving households accrue the highest welfare gains as a result of new bond issuance, while hand-to-mouth consumers are better off when non-distorting taxes are adjusted.