Role of efficiency and composition of public infrastructure: implications for growth and employment

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to theoretical endogenous growth literature, establishing the role of efficiency of public infrastructure use by private/public production sectors and composition of public infrastructure (i.e. proportion of public infrastructure directed towards productivity-enhancing purposes) in growth-process. For a small open economy with private/public production sectors, at free trade, increases in efficiency of public infrastructure use by private/public production-sector increase balanced growth rate, ratios of economy-wide aggregate-level of (i) private to public capital and (ii) employment to public – capital, under restrictions on efficiency – composition mix of public infrastructure and the free trade price, given other model-parameters; i.e. effect of efficiency-increase depends on public infrastructure composition. Thus, assessment of macroeconomic implications of employment should consider efficiency and composition of public infrastructure.