James Robinson and Ragnar Torvik published an article in the Journal of Public Economics in 2005 called White Elephants.  They noted a phenomenon that demands an explanation: the deliberate and conscious wasting of public money by politicians on projects which fail a public interest test, specifically the test that social benefits exceed social costs.  The month of August is peak season for pre-budget submissions in Ireland, and numerous problematic schemes are doing the rounds. Given the government’s apparent willingness to support capital projects without scrutiny or even serious cost estimates, a seasonal White Elephant alert is timely.  Dodgy projects often…

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