IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/bejmac/v20y2020i1p17n26.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The welfare effects of infrastructure investment in a heterogeneous agents economy

Author

Listed:
  • Gibson John

    (Department of Economics and Finance, University of Texas El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USA, Phone: +915-747-5245)

  • Rioja Felix

    (Department of Economics, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA)

Abstract

Public infrastructure is one of the foundations for the economic growth of a country. While there is a strong consensus regarding infrastructure’s effect on growth, less is known about the effect of infrastructure on welfare and the distribution of wealth. In this paper, we examine the quantitative effect of infrastructure investment on welfare and the degree of inequality present within a developing country. In so doing, we characterize the effects resulting from increased infrastructure investment by tracing out the entire transition path between steady states. Three results standout: (i) both average and individual welfare effects are sizable, regardless of how the additional investment is financed, (ii) when distortionary taxes are adjusted to finance additional investment, poorer agents benefit more when the interest income tax is used, while richer agents benefit more when either the consumption or labor income taxes are used, (iii) inequality, as measured by the wealth Gini, rises in the short-run, but the long-run effect depends on which financing method is chosen.

Suggested Citation

  • Gibson John & Rioja Felix, 2020. "The welfare effects of infrastructure investment in a heterogeneous agents economy," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 20(1), pages 1-17, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejmac:v:20:y:2020:i:1:p:17:n:26
    DOI: 10.1515/bejm-2019-0095
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/bejm-2019-0095
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/bejm-2019-0095?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. César Calderón & Alberto Chong, 2004. "Volume and Quality of Infrastructure and the Distribution of Income: An Empirical Investigation," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 50(1), pages 87-106, March.
    2. Santanu Chatterjee & Sugata Ghosh, 2011. "The dual nature of public goods and congestion: the role of fiscal policy revisited," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 1471-1496, November.
    3. Chatterjee, Santanu & Gibson, John & Rioja, Felix, 2017. "Optimal public debt redux," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 162-174.
    4. Gerhard Glomm & B. Ravikumar, 2001. "Human capital accumulation and endogenous public expenditures," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 34(3), pages 807-826, August.
    5. 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.
    6. Agénor, Pierre-Richard & Canuto, Otaviano, 2015. "Gender equality and economic growth in Brazil: A long-run analysis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 155-172.
    7. Shahidur Khandker & Gayatri Koolwal, 2010. "How Infrastructure and Financial Institutions Affect Rural Income and Poverty: Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(6), pages 1109-1137.
    8. 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.
    9. S. Rao Aiyagari, 1994. "Uninsured Idiosyncratic Risk and Aggregate Saving," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(3), pages 659-684.
    10. Douglas Gollin, 2002. "Getting Income Shares Right," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(2), pages 458-474, April.
    11. Shahidur R. Khandker & Zaid Bakht & Gayatri B. Koolwal, 2009. "The Poverty Impact of Rural Roads: Evidence from Bangladesh," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(4), pages 685-722, July.
    12. Cubas, German, 2016. "Distortions, infrastructure, and female labor supply in developing countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 194-215.
    13. Glomm, Gerhard & Ravikumar, B., 1994. "Public investment in infrastructure in a simple growth model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 1173-1187, November.
    14. Ferreira, Francisco H. G., 1995. "Roads to equality: wealth distribution dynamics with public-private capital complementarity," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19368, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Aschauer, David Alan, 1989. "Does public capital crowd out private capital?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 171-188, September.
    16. Getachew, Yoseph Y. & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2015. "Productive government spending and its consequences for the growth–inequality tradeoff," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 621-640.
    17. David Domeij & Jonathan Heathcote, 2004. "On The Distributional Effects Of Reducing Capital Taxes," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 45(2), pages 523-554, May.
    18. Heer, Burkhard & Trede, Mark, 2003. "Efficiency and distribution effects of a revenue-neutral income tax reform," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 87-107, March.
    19. Rioja, Felix K., 1999. "Productiveness and welfare implications of public infrastructure: a dynamic two-sector general equilibrium analysis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 387-404, April.
    20. Gerhard Glomm & B. Ravikumar, 1994. "Growth-Inequality Trade-Offs in a Model with Public Sector R&D," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 27(2), pages 484-493, May.
    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. Viral V. Acharya & Cecilia Parlatore & Suresh Sundaresan, 2022. "Financing Infrastructure in the Shadow of Expropriation," NBER Working Papers 30131, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Noé Villegas Flores & Yelinca Saldeño Madero & Camilo Alberto Torres Parra & Isidoro Fasolino & Hugo Alexander Rondón Quintana, 2021. "Multi-Criteria Approach for Prioritizing and Managing Public Investment in Urban Spaces. A Case Study in the Triple Frontier," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-24, March.
    3. Villegas Flores, Noé & Cruz Salvador, Liliana Cristina & Parapinski dos Santos, Ana Carolina & Madero, Yelinca Saldeño, 2021. "A proposal to compare urban infrastructure using multi-criteria analysis," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    4. Xu, Ruihui & Zhang, Xuliang & Gozgor, Giray & Lau, Chi Keung Marco & Yan, Cheng, 2023. "Investor flow-chasing and price–performance puzzle: Evidence from global infrastructure funds," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Burkhard Heer & Alfred Maußner, 2024. "Dynamic General Equilibrium Modeling," Springer Texts in Business and Economics, Springer, edition 3, number 978-3-031-51681-8.

    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. John Gibson & Felix Rioja, 2017. "Public Infrastructure Maintenance And The Distribution Of Wealth," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(1), pages 175-186, January.
    2. Chiara DEL BO, 2009. "Recent advances in public investment, fiscal policy and growth," Departmental Working Papers 2009-25, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    3. Silvia Bertarelli, 2006. "Public capital and growth," Politica economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 361-398.
    4. Escobar-Posada, Rolando A. & Monteiro, Goncalo, 2015. "Long-run growth and welfare in a two sector endogenous growth model with productive and non-productive government expenditure," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 218-234.
    5. Ghate Chetan, 2003. "The Politics of Endogenous Growth," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-18, August.
    6. Chetan Ghate & Gerhard Glomm & Jialu Liu Streeter, 2016. "Sectoral Infrastructure Investments in an Unbalanced Growing Economy: The Case of Potential Growth in India," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 33(2), pages 144-166, September.
    7. Bom, Pedro R.D. & Ligthart, Jenny E., 2014. "Public infrastructure investment, output dynamics, and balanced budget fiscal rules," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 334-354.
    8. Chatterjee, Santanu & Gibson, John & Rioja, Felix, 2018. "Public investment, debt, and welfare: A quantitative analysis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 204-217.
    9. Erauskin, Iñaki & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2020. "Financial globalization and its consequences for productive government expenditure," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Getachew, Yoseph, 2008. "Public Capital, Income Distribution and Growth," MERIT Working Papers 2008-056, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    11. Youze Lang & Qiuyi Yang, 2019. "Does Public Infrastructure Breed Consumption Downgrade and Overcapacity in China? A DSGE Approach on Macroeconomic Effects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, February.
    12. Getachew, Yoseph Yilma, 2016. "Credit constraints, growth and inequality dynamics," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 364-376.
    13. Theo Eicher & Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2000. "Scale, Congestion and Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 67(267), pages 325-346, August.
    14. Manuel A. Gómez, 2008. "Fiscal Policy, Congestion, and Endogenous Growth," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 10(4), pages 595-622, August.
    15. Escobar-Posada Rolando A. & Monteiro Goncalo, 2018. "Stock vs flow specification of public infrastructures: a dynamic analysis," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, June.
    16. Shaheen Naseer, 2019. "Public Spending, Quality of Bureaucracy and Economic Growth: A Theoretical Analysis," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 58(2), pages 203-221.
    17. Chatterjee, Santanu & Gibson, John & Rioja, Felix, 2017. "Optimal public debt redux," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 162-174.
    18. Arcalean, Calin & Glomm, Gerhard & Schiopu, Ioana, 2012. "Growth effects of spatial redistribution policies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 988-1008.
    19. Ingrid Ott & Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2006. "Excludable and Non‐excludable Public Inputs: Consequences for Economic Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 73(292), pages 725-748, November.
    20. Ingrid Ott & Susanne Soretz, 2006. "Governmental activity, integration, and agglomeration," Working Paper Series in Economics 57, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.

    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:bpj:bejmac:v:20:y:2020:i:1:p:17:n:26. 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: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    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.