Recommendation of the OECD Council on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government

In 2012, OECD Member countries spent USD 1.17 trillion in direct public investment, representing 2.7% of OECD GDP. Looking across the OECD area, sub-national governments manage around 72% of direct public investment– with notable variation among countries. If well managed, public investment represents a potentially growth-enhancing form of public expenditure. However, poor investment choices and implementation not only waste limited public resources and erode public trust, but they may also hamper future growth opportunities.

The Principles on Effective Public Investment will help governments assess the strengths and weaknesses of their public investment capacity and set priorities for improvement.

The Principles group 12 recommendations into 3 pillars representing systemic multi-level governance challenges for public investment:

Pillar 1 addresses coordination and focuses on the different types of governance arrangements and incentives than can help coordination.

Pillar 2 highlights key public management capacities that should be present to bolster conditions for effective investment.

Pillar 3 focuses on the key framework governance conditions for public investment.

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The full text of the Recommendation of the Council on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government is available at http://acts.oecd.org/Default.aspx. Please check the OECD database of legal instruments for additional information and any future updates

Background information

Corporate governance

Recommendation of the OECD Council on Effective Public Investment Across Levels of Government