Book Description

The Investment Report, issued annually by the European Investment Bank, provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of investment and the financing of investment in the European Union. It combines the exploration of investment trends with in-depth analysis, focusing especially on the drivers and barriers to investment activity. The report leverages on a unique set of databases and survey data, including EIBIS, an annual survey of 12 500 firms in Europe, which focuses on their assessment of investment and investment finance conditions, and which allows analysis with firm balance sheet information. The report provides critical inputs to policy debates on the need for public action on investment, and on the types of intervention that can have the greatest impact. This year's report addresses a moment of economic recovery in which investment growth, overall, is strong, but downside risks to the economic outlook are rising. It identifies many ways in which current investment is still structurally inadequate, given the legacy effects of the recent crisis and the great challenges that lie ahead. There is an urgent need to re-tool Europe, from its infrastructure and innovation ecosystem, through to its businesses and workers, to enhance prosperity and social cohesion.