Introduction:

For most of the past decade it has seemed as if the world – and especially Europe – has been caught up in a perpetual state of crisis. Or rather than speaking of a single crisis, it is probably more accurate to speak of multiple crises. The financial crisis starting in 2008 was followed by the Euro-crisis in 2011, which was subdued only to be revived in 2014. Highly volatile oil prices accompanied the financial crisis and plummeted to around US$30 per barrel a few years later. Meanwhile, climate change has been the object of growing concern, which culminated in the Paris agreement in December 2015 where the target mark of aiming for no more than 1.5 degree Celsius warming by the end of the century was established. In addition, there are creeping crises relating to growing income and wealth inequalities, continued high levels of unemployment in many countries and most recently dramatic migration and refugee movements. Looming global economic slowdown currently unsettles policy-makers across the globe in fear of being caught up in a long-term 'secular stagnation'. One would assume that public investment strategies based on, or at least inspired by, Keynesian textbook advice would be quick at hand. However, they are not, even though there are good concepts available.