Perspectives on the Significance of Assessment Tools and Appraisal Frameworks in Approaching Publicly Funded Infrastructure Decisions in Support of Economic Growth: Insight from Ireland's Experience and US and UK Practice

The effectiveness of systematic and targeted investment in infrastructure, particularly transport, has divided opinion about the effectiveness of such spending as a tool for driving economies out of recession by creating jobs and economic growth. Ireland responded to a clamor for greatly increased investment in its infrastructure during its prolonged economic boom from the late 1990's through to 2008/9. Empirical evidence is now available on which to assess the efficacy of that prolonged programme of infrastructure investment that was brought to an abrupt halt in the last few years following the onset of the worldwide financial and economic crisis in 2009. In the US, the idea of spending on public works projects like road-building as economic stimulus has been a mainstay of jobs proposals from both Congressional Democrats and the White House in recent years. The evidence from Ireland provides arguably a unique opportunity to evaluate the economic and related impacts of a massive spending programme that was the equivalent to the US investing more than $275 billion per annum for 10 years on transport infrastructure. The arguments for infrastructure spending among interest groups, lobbyists and many economists and the evidence for it stem from a variety of analytical tools and empirical evidence. This paper evaluates the Irish experience over the last decade on the basis of regional and census data as well as other secondary evidence and relevant literature. It also reviews the approaches and methods employed in and outcomes reported from the US, based largely on secondary evidence.