Regional Dimensions of Recent Weakness in Investment : Drivers, Investment Needs and Policy Responses
Investment growth in many emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) has slowed sharply since 2010. Investment growth performance has varied significantly across different regions, however. This paper examines the temporal evolution of invest...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/367091488463955863/Regional-dimensions-of-recent-weakness-in-investment-drivers-investment-needs-and-policy-responses http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26241 |
| Summary: | Investment growth in many emerging
market and developing economies (EMDEs) has slowed sharply
since 2010. Investment growth performance has varied
significantly across different regions, however. This paper
examines the temporal evolution of investment growth in six
EMDE regions, documents remaining investment needs,
especially for infrastructure, and presents a set of
region-specific policy responses to address these needs. It
reports three main findings. First, investment growth has
been particularly weak in EMDE regions with a large number
of commodity exporters. In regions with a substantial number
of commodity-importing economies, investment growth has been
somewhat resilient but has also declined steadily since
2010. Second, sizable investment needs remain in most EMDE
regions to make room for expanding economic activity and
rapid urbanization. A sizeable portion of these investment
needs is in infrastructure and human capital. Finally, while
specific policy priorities vary across regions, several
policy options to address remaining investment needs apply
universally. These include more, or more efficient, public
investment and measures to improve overall growth prospects
and the business climate. Improved project selection and
monitoring, as well as better governance, may enhance the
efficiency and benefits from public investment. |
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