Was the construction sector in 20 European countries anti-cyclical during the recession years 2008-2009 as measured by multicriteria analysis (MULTIMOORA)?

Abstract

The thesis of Keynes that public investment may act as a remedy in recession years is well-known. This thesis is examined on basis of the behavior of different criteria measuring the construction sector during the recession years 2008–2009 for 20 European Countries. During these recession years all these criteria showed a pro-cyclical movement instead of an anti- cyclical one. MULTIMOORA, a multi-objective optimization method, aggregated the different criteria. In addition knowing that public investments, in fact public works, take a long time between decision and execution one may conclude that they are not an anti-cyclical instrument in recession years. It would mean that the thesis of Keynes is wrong.