ABSTRACT
IN advanced countries much of the total fixed capital takes the form of buildings and of equipment for public utilities, and a high proportion of the annual gross investment is required for that sector of the economy.' In such countries, except at times when· they are undergoing exceptionally rapid change, the process of providing this 'public overhead capital', as it may be called, occurs continuously along with technical changes in other parts of the system and as new types of capital goods are substituted for the old. For example, in England the roads needed for the motor age were created by improving and enlarging the extensive road system already in being, the motor users being taxed to furnish the necessary revenue. Even when equipment of an entirely new type is required, its introduction often occurs gradually over a considerable period.
