Flowers vs Garbage Trucks: Which Type of Local Government Investment Has the Greatest Impact on Economic Growth?

Abstract

This article is an empirical study of the values the fiscal multipliers of different types of local government investment for 73 NUTS-3 sub-regions in Poland over the period from 2007 to 2021. The findings suggest that in the 1-2 years following the initial shock, the accumulated fiscal multipliers of investment expenditures are either insignificant or are significant but less than 1. Contrarily, during the 3-5 year period, the accumulated fiscal multipliers of total investment expenditures and expenditures on road construction show a significant increase, surpassing 1.5. Meanwhile, the fiscal multiplier of investments funded by EU structural funds can reach as high as 3.0.