Infrastructure

State and local governments account for the bulk of public spending on infrastructure. Infrastructure investments can ensure that we do not leave future generations a deficit of underinvestment and deferred maintenance of public assets. Such investment can create jobs and lock-in genuine full employment in the near-term and provide a needed boost to productivity growth in the medium-term. Large, sustained increases in infrastructure investment can increase aggregate demand and productivity growth, which provides the potential ceiling on how fast average income can rise.

Smart public investment should put the needs of the public first and should not undercut workers’ wages.

Publications

Making Smarter State Investments: The Geographic Distribution of Business Subsidies in Pennsylvania

The state of Pennsylvania currently gives out roughly $300 million dollars each year to attract businesses to Pennsylvania or retain existing ones. This report raises the question: does Pennsylvania invest these subsidies in the right places? The report analyzes where subsidies given out by three of the largest Pennsylvania business subsidy programs go, including the extent to which they go to older communities with existing infrastructure versus outlying communities.