[go: up one dir, main page]

IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ejores/v228y2013i1p122-130.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is public capital really productive? A methodological reappraisal

Author

Listed:
  • Hurlin, Christophe
  • Minea, Alexandru
Abstract
We present an evaluation of the main empirical approaches used in the literature to estimate the contribution of public capital stock to growth and private factors’ productivity. Based on a simple stochastic general equilibrium model, built as to reproduce the main long-run relations observed in US post-war historical data, we show that the production function approach may not be reliable to estimate this contribution. Our analysis reveals that this approach largely overestimates the public capital elasticity, given the presence of a common stochastic trend shared by all non-stationary inputs.

Suggested Citation

  • Hurlin, Christophe & Minea, Alexandru, 2013. "Is public capital really productive? A methodological reappraisal," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 228(1), pages 122-130.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:228:y:2013:i:1:p:122-130
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2012.12.030
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221713000040
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ejor.2012.12.030?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giraleas, Dimitris & Emrouznejad, Ali & Thanassoulis, Emmanuel, 2012. "Productivity change using growth accounting and frontier-based approaches – Evidence from a Monte Carlo analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 222(3), pages 673-683.
    2. De Witte, Kristof & Geys, Benny, 2013. "Citizen coproduction and efficient public good provision: Theory and evidence from local public libraries," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 224(3), pages 592-602.
    3. Soderlind, Paul & Vredin, Anders, 1996. "Applied Cointegration Analysis in the Mirror of Macroeconomic Theory," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(4), pages 363-381, July-Aug..
    4. Park, Joon Y. & Phillips, Peter C.B., 1989. "Statistical Inference in Regressions with Integrated Processes: Part 2," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 95-131, April.
    5. Sau‐Him Paul Lau & Chor‐Yiu Sin, 1997. "Public Infrastructure and Economic Growth: Time‐Series Properties and Evidence," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 73(221), pages 125-135, June.
    6. Aschauer, David Alan, 1989. "Is public expenditure productive?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 177-200, March.
    7. Glomm, Gerhard & Ravikumar, B., 1997. "Productive government expenditures and long-run growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 183-204, January.
    8. Gramlich, Edward M, 1994. "Infrastructure Investment: A Review Essay," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(3), pages 1176-1196, September.
    9. John A. Tatom, 1991. "Public capital and private sector performance," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue May, pages 3-15.
    10. repec:bla:ecorec:v:70:y:1994:i:209:p:121-32 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Barro, Robert J, 1990. "Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogenous Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 103-126, October.
    12. Peter J. Wylie, 1996. "Infrastructure and Canadian Economic Growth 1946-1991," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 29(s1), pages 350-355, April.
    13. Eisner, Robert, 1994. "Real government saving and the future," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 111-126, March.
    14. William Crowder & Daniel Himarios, 1997. "Balanced growth and public capital: an empirical analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(8), pages 1045-1053.
    15. Sturm, Jan Egbert & de Haan, Jakob, 1995. "Is public expenditure really productive?: New evidence for the USA and The Netherlands," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 60-72, January.
    16. repec:bla:scandj:v:94:y:1992:i:0:p:s151-68 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    18. Ratner, Jonathan B., 1983. "Government capital and the production function for U.S. private output," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 213-217.
    19. Jan-Egbert Sturm, 1998. "Public Capital Expenditure in OECD Countries," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1500.
    20. repec:bla:ecorec:v:73:y:1997:i:221:p:125-35 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Berndt, Ernst & Hansson, Bengt, 1992. "Measuring the Contribution of Capital in Sweden," Working Paper Series 365, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    22. Cassou, Steven P. & Lansing, Kevin J., 1998. "Optimal fiscal policy, public capital, and the productivity slowdown," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 911-935, June.
    23. Baxter, Marianne & King, Robert G, 1993. "Fiscal Policy in General Equilibrium," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(3), pages 315-334, June.
    24. Phillips, P C B, 1991. "Optimal Inference in Cointegrated Systems," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 59(2), pages 283-306, March.
    25. Krüger, Jens J., 2012. "A Monte Carlo study of old and new frontier methods for efficiency measurement," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 222(1), pages 137-148.
    26. Bajo-Rubio, Oscar & Sosvilla-Rivero, Simon, 1993. "Does public capital affect private sector performance? : An analysis of the Spanish case, 1964-1988," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 179-185, July.
    27. Alicia H. Munnell, 1992. "Policy Watch: Infrastructure Investment and Economic Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 189-198, Fall.
    28. Krüger, Jens, 2012. "A Monte Carlo Study of Old and New Frontier Methods for Efficiency Measurement," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 63651, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    29. Ward Romp & Jakob De Haan, 2007. "Public Capital and Economic Growth: A Critical Survey," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 8(S1), pages 6-52, April.
    30. Glenn Otto & Graham M. Voss, 1994. "Public Capital and Private Sector Productivity," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 70(209), pages 121-132, June.
    31. Wim P. M. Vijverberg & Chu-Ping C. Vijverberg & Janet L. Gamble, 1997. "Public Capital And Private Productivity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(2), pages 267-278, May.
    32. Greenwood, Jeremy & Hercowitz, Zvi & Huffman, Gregory W, 1988. "Investment, Capacity Utilization, and the Real Business Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(3), pages 402-417, June.
    33. Ouellette, Pierre & Petit, Patrick & Tessier-Parent, Louis-Philippe & Vigeant, Stéphane, 2010. "Introducing regulation in the measurement of efficiency, with an application to the Canadian air carriers industry," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(1), pages 216-226, January.
    34. A. Greiner & W. Semmler, 1999. "An endogenous growth model with public capitaland government borrowing," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 88(0), pages 65-79, January.
    35. Ram, Rati & Ramsey, David D., 1989. "Government capital and private output in the United States : Additional evidence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 223-226, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Combes, Jean-Louis & Minea, Alexandru & Sawadogo, Pegdéwendé Nestor, 2021. "Does the composition of government spending matter for government bond spreads?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 409-420.
    2. Jean-Louis Combes & Alexandru Minea & Pegdéwendé Nestor Sawadogo, 2019. "Does the composition of government expenditures matter for sovereign bond spreads' evolution in developing countries?," Working Papers halshs-02019063, HAL.
    3. Apeti, Ablam Estel & Combes, Jean-Louis & Minea, Alexandru, 2023. "Inflation targeting and the composition of public expenditure: Evidence from developing countries," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Mamatzakis, E. & Tsionas, M., 2018. "Revisiting the returns of public infrastructure in Mexico: A limited information local likelihood estimation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 132-141.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pedro R.D. Bom & Jenny E. Ligthart, 2014. "What Have We Learned From Three Decades Of Research On The Productivity Of Public Capital?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 889-916, December.
    2. Alfredo M. Pereira & Jorge M. Andraz, 2013. "On The Economic Effects Of Public Infrastructure Investment: A Survey Of The International Evidence," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 38(4), pages 1-37, December.
    3. Pedro R.D. Bom & Jenny E. Ligthart, 2009. "How Productive is Public Capital? A Meta-Regression Analysis," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0912, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    4. Pedro R. D. Bom & Jenny Ligthart, 2008. "How Productive is Public Capital? A Meta-Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 2206, CESifo.
    5. Valter Di Giacinto & Giacinto Micucci & Pasqualino Montanaro, 2012. "The Macroeconomic Impact of Infrastructures: A Literature Review and Empirical Analysis on the Case of Italy," QA - Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi-Doria, Associazione Rossi Doria, issue 1, March.
    6. Silvia Bertarelli, 2006. "Public capital and growth," Politica economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 361-398.
    7. Ward Romp & Jakob De Haan, 2007. "Public Capital and Economic Growth: A Critical Survey," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 8(S1), pages 6-52, April.
    8. Angel De la Fuente, 2010. "Infrastructures and productivity: an updated survey," Working Papers 1018, BBVA Bank, Economic Research Department.
    9. Gupta, Sanjeev & Kangur, Alvar & Papageorgiou, Chris & Wane, Abdoul, 2014. "Efficiency-Adjusted Public Capital and Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 164-178.
    10. José Luis Torres Chacon, 2015. "Introduction to Dynamic Macroeconomic General Equilibrium Models," Vernon Press Titles in Economics, Vernon Art and Science Inc, edition 2, number 54.
    11. Chu-Ping C. Vijverberg & Wim P. M. Vijverberg, 2007. "Diagnosing the Productivity Effect of Public Capital in the Private Sector," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 33(2), pages 207-230, Spring.
    12. Andreas Stephan, 2003. "Assessing the contribution of public capital to private production: Evidence from the German manufacturing sector," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 399-417.
    13. Holmgren, Johan & Merkel, Axel, 2017. "Much ado about nothing? – A meta-analysis of the relationship between infrastructure and economic growth," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 13-26.
    14. Rafaela Mª Pérez Sánchez, 2004. "Characterizing the Optimal Composition of Government Expenditures," Documentos de Trabajo del ICAE 0409, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico.
    15. Satya Paul & Balbir S. Sahni & Bagala P. Biswal, 2004. "Public Infrastructure and the Productive Performance of Canadian Manufacturing Industries," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(4), pages 998-1011, April.
    16. Jerome Creel & Paola Monperrus-Veroni & Francesco Saraceno, 2007. "Has the Golden Rule of Public Finance Made a Difference in the UK ?," Documents de Travail de l'OFCE 2007-13, Observatoire Francais des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE).
    17. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2021. "How quantitatively important is public investment for both business cycle fluctuations and output growth in Bulgaria (1999–2018)?," Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 126-141, May.
    18. Marie-Ange VEGANZONES-VAROUDAKIS, 2000. "Infrastructures, investissement et croissance : un bilan de dix années de recherches," Working Papers 200007, CERDI.
    19. Arestoff, Florence & Hurlin, Christophe, 2006. "Estimates of government net capital stocks for 26 developing countries, 1970-2002," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3858, The World Bank.
    20. Musisi, A.A., 2006. "Physical public infrastructure and private sector output/productivity in Uganda: a firm level analysis," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19182, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:228:y:2013:i:1:p:122-130. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eor .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.