Can national infrastructure spending reduce local unemployment? Evidence from an Australian roads program

Andrew Leigh and Christine Neill ()

Economics Letters, 2011, vol. 113, issue 2, 150-153

Abstract: We examine the effect of a federally-funded local infrastructure spending program on local unemployment rates. To address the likely funding endogeneity problem, we exploit variation in spending due to pork-barreling, and find that higher government expenditure on roads substantially reduces local unemployment.

Keywords: Fiscal policy; Unemployment; Partisanship (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 E62 H30 H54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:113:y:2011:i:2:p:150-153

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2011.05.037

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