OECD Development Centre Working Papers
The OECD Development Centre links OECD members with developing and emerging economies and fosters debate and discussion to seek creative policy solutions to emerging global issues and development challenges. This series of working papers is intended to disseminate the OECD Development Centre’s research findings rapidly among specialists in the field concerned. These papers are generally available in the original English or French, with a summary in the other language.
- ISSN: 18151949 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/18151949
Public Infrastructure Investment and Fiscal Sustainability in Latin America
Incompatible Goals?
Latin American countries exhibit a significant gap in infrastructure stocks, due to low and in many cases inefficient public investment, which is furthermore not compensated by private sector projects. In this paper we analyse trends in public and total infrastructure investment in six large Latin American economies, in the light of fiscal developments since the early eighties. We argue that post-crisis fiscal frameworks, notably fiscal rules which are increasingly popular in the region, should not only consolidate the recent progress towards debt sustainability, but also create the fiscal space to close these infrastructure gaps. These points are illustrated in a detailed account of recent developments in the fiscal framework and public investment in the Peruvian case.
Keywords: infrastructure, fiscal policy, fiscal rules, Latin America
JEL:
E62: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics / Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook / Fiscal Policy;
H54: Public Economics / National Government Expenditures and Related Policies / National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures; Other Public Investment and Capital Stock;
O54: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Economywide Country Studies / Economywide Country Studies: Latin America; Caribbean
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