Increasing Public Investment, Fostering Digitalization, and Supporting the Green Transition: A Difficult Challenge

Public investment in Belgium has been low historically. Against severe budgetary constraints and fiscal consolidation requirements, public investment should however be preserved or, ideally, increased to mitigate the demand impact of consolidation and enhance productive capacity to lift potential growth. Furthermore, there is growing need for strategic public investment to facilitate digitalization and the green transition. This paper examines these intertwined challenges and proposes policy measures to help bolster public investment.