Macroeconomic Effects of Investments in Domestic Water Services

Sanitary environmental engineering delivers valuable services for society in particular by treating waste waters to improve environmental quality (surface water and groundwater protection) and providing potable water. In Austria public support by the federal government contributes to financing these services. The report analyses the macroeconomic consequences including induced economic effects using a general equilibrium model. The volume of investments was € 542 million in 2011. It raised the GDP by € 10 million (0.003 percent), employment by 1,900 persons and taxes by € 66 million. Extending the analysis by accounting for the capacity multiplicator effects, GDP is estimated to be raised by € 69 million (0.02 percent), employment by 2,700 persons and taxes by € 101.9 million.