Investment and Investment Finance in Europe 2016

Description

The EIB annual report on Investment and Investment Finance provides a comprehensive overview of the developments and drivers of investment and its financing in the EU.

It reveals that investment is recovering in Europe, but the recovery is slow and uneven among asset classes and countries.

Household investment remains very much depressed eight years after the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008.

Government infrastructure investment lags behind long term trends as fiscal policies have been penalising gross fixed capital formation versus current expenditures in most countries. The corporate sector is driving the slow recovery of investment, but investment returns have substantially decreased and uncertainty and business impediments constrain activity.

Interesting, investment in intangible assets has been performing well throughout the crisis, but remains low in Europe compared to peers.

Understanding the reasons behind this slow investment recovery is crucial in order to properly define policy actions.

Investment and Investment Finance combines analysis of key market trends and developments, with a more in-depth thematic focus, which this year is devoted to the impact of financial constraints on investment dynamics.

A new addition to the report this year is the new annual EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS).

The report is a flagship product of the EIB Economics Department. It complements internal EIB analysis with contributions from leading experts on the field.