Infrastructure programs rarely stimulate growth

The experience of other nations confirms that just spending more on infrastructure without the over-riding goal of boosting productivity does not help the economy.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau speaks to reporters in the West Block on April 11. Before another spending binge, governments should carefully evaluate whether past infrastructure stimulus programs succeeded in boosting the economy in either the short-term or the long-term, writes Philip Cross.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY PHILIP CROSS

April 22, 2020

As the true scale of the economic disaster due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown becomes apparent, there are renewed calls for increased government spending on infrastructure. This has been the reflexive response to every economic slump dating back to the Keynesian proposal to fight the Great De...

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