Boosting efficiency in public investment in times of fiscal constraint

Stephan Haroutunian, Carolin Nerlich, Marta Rodríguez-Vives and Caspar Schauhoff

Economic Bulletin Articles, 2026, vol. 2

Abstract: The EU is faced with massive strategic public investment needs in an environment of limited fiscal space. Raising the spending efficiency of public investment, especially in countries with limited fiscal space, can ease the funding of the strategic investment needs while safeguarding debt sustainability. The article analyses the efficiency in public investment spending on transport infrastructure, which is the largest component of public investment across the EU, and finds substantial room for improvement. JEL Classification: H40, H54, H60

Keywords: efficiency; fiscal space; infrastructure; investment needs; public investment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-04
Note: 343309
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ecb:ecbart:2026:0002:1

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