This paper describes the characteristics of public investment management (PIM) in seven EU countries as it applies to a single sectortransport infrastructure. The report highlights some of the ...common challenges that four relatively new EU member statesPoland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Latviaface as they plan and execute their transport infrastructure projects. It recognizes theimportance that EU-mandated processes and procedures have in shaping national systems in the new member states (NMS), but the report finds that actual practices often fall short of EU goals due to capacity constraints, weak institutional structures, and other factors. The experiences of the NMS are compared with those of more developed economies (namely Spain, the UK, and Ireland) to assess whether the later countries have faced similar challenges in managing public investment, and if so, what measures they have adopted to overcome them. This comparative analysis serves to draw out several good practice examples that are relevant for all countries. How those practices are applied in each country is a matter for further study, as each country considers its own political culture and administrative tradition. This paper is a first step toward building dialogue among public finance practitioners in Central and Eastern Europe on how to make public investment projects more effective and efficient over the long term.
The primary purposes of this study were
two-fold: i) to identify some of the key issues and
challenges being faced by New Member States (NMS) in the
management of their public investment programs; ...and ii) to
identify good practice examples and persistent challenges
faced by European Union (EU) member states that have had a
longer history of development under democratic institutions
of public management. By necessity this study is limited in
the number of country cases and the depth at which various
issues are addressed. Four NMS were selected - Poland,
Slovenia, Latvia, and Slovakia based on agreed willingness
to participate. The three 'old member states' were
the UK, Ireland, and Spain (selected based on Bank interest
and availability of expert consultants). In all of the
countries, the focus was on central government policies and
practices even though some execute projects through regional
governments as well. The scope of the study was limited
strictly to transport infrastructure (roads, bridges, and
railways), because this tends to be the largest beneficiary
of EU funding for investment. Finally, while the study
touches on all phases of the project cycle, the strongest
emphasis is given to project planning, appraisal and selection.
With the restoration of democracy and new lending agreements with the international community, the Haitian government embarked upon an ambitious program of budgetary reforms in 1996. For the next two ...years, Haiti's Ministry of Economy and Finance pursued administrative and legislative changes intended to address significant problems with the country's budget preparation and execution. This article examines the types of problems the Ministry faced and how it chose to address them. The author concludes that though the Ministry made important progress, the ultimate success of the reforms was impeded by weakness in the administrative capacity of the government and a persistent lack of clear political consensus and direction in the country.
As Congress moves to cut the deficit to increase private investment, there is a growing concern that Congress is also directly cutting the programs that are designed to promote economic growth. ...Congress can both balance the federal budget and promote specific public investment programs by establishing an investment component within the current unified budget structure.
The Mexican Revolution in art reached its first climax in the middle twenties, coming to an end for the time being in a conscious reaction against mural painting during the less-than-Revolutionary ...Calles period (1924-1934). This intellectual trend was sparked by a literary group, "Los Contemporaneos," that published the works of European and American writers and painters and by an artistic group centered in Guadalajara and calling itself "Bohemia."
Conclusions and Recommendations Laursen, Thomas; Myers, Bernard
Public Investment Management in the New EU Member States,
2009, Letnik:
No. 161
Book Chapter
