The construction industry wants to lobby the government on the importance of investment in building and infrastructure and how this would support economic recovery. The industry bodies, CIOB and QSi, have a particular interest in encouraging government to increase investment in affordable housing, public buildings and infrastructure.
Prepare a report explaining how investment in building and infrastructure can be used to support economic growth. Discuss how the industry’s interaction with the wider economy can lead to an increase in economic growth and therefore at the current time help to sustain increases in GDP. Illustrate your argument by reference to development of the housing stock, public buildings, and infrastructure.
You will need to draw together lecture and reference material on the economics of construction/development. You will need to consider how cycles are generated, how they relate to the interaction between the development industry and the wider economy. You should also note the volatility of the construction/development sector. You should make use of construction output data published by the government. Also examine industry body websites and individual companies.
Note that you are asked for a report rather than an essay. The report should be no more than 3,000 words and, with so few words to play with, needs to be very concise and focused. The report should include diagrams and data as appropriate. Think about the scenario: this is a report designed to convey the key arguments to government in the most effective manner. For advice on report writing you might want to look at Moore and Hesp (1985) Basic of Writing Reports, or, Irving and Smith (1998) No sweat: the indispensible guide to reports and dissertations, or Mort (1992) Professional Report Writing. There are many more texts on report writing available in libraries.
