ABSTRACT
A public works policy inaugurated, when money is cheap and plentiful, would have a very different environment from that in which the earlier experiment was tried. A deflationary monetary policy was being applied in the hope of preserving the exchange level of sterling; and the effects of this deflation went far to cancel out the benefits of the industrial expansion which in other circumstances would result from the programme of public works. We assume that there is a very strong case both for an immediate programme of useful public work and for a long-range plan of national development and conservation. We conclude that there is need both for a long-range continuous programme of national development and conservation, and for a short-range programme by which, in times of depression, the community may expand its expenditure on useful capital works.
