Public Works Program Definition and Examples

Public works programs (PWP) are government activities that are created to help the poor in exchange for their labor or services. The government can pay cash, and give food or vouchers in exchange for services or labor that are often intensive. Public works programs are also known as public employment programmes or cash-for-work programmes.

Types of Public Works Programs

1. Short-term public works programmes
2. Long-term public works programmes

Short term 

Short-term programs are created to ease a sudden crisis or economic depression. It is easier to design and implement because it is not going to last for a long time. Short term public works programmes provide immediate cash income that can provide temporary relief from economic hardship or crisis.

Long term 

A long-term PWP lasts over an extended period of time and its main objective is to reduce the level of poverty in the economy. It is usually created during an economic depression and it is a type of expansionary fiscal policy that is applied by the government in order to stimulate the economy to grow. An example of a long-term public works program is the public works administration of the United States which was created for the purpose of reviving the United States economy during the Great Depression. In this case, the government spends money by creating different public works projects that are labor-intensive, that way the poorest can be employed to carry out these public works projects and through it, they can have reliable sources of income. Any public work program that is regarded as long term typically lasts for at least 75 to 100 days.

Examples of Public Works Programs

1. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
2. Civil Works Administration (CWA)
3. Farm Security Administration (FSA)
4. National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA)
5. The Social Security Administration (SSA)

The public works programs examples mentioned above are part of the NEW DEAL programs that were created by President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States of America during the great depression of the 1930s.

Recent Public Works Programs Examples

• Chinese economic stimulus program of 2008–2009
• European Union stimulus plan of 2008
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Other common public works programs examples today are the NPower program and the special public works program of Nigeria; in the United States of America, some PWP still existing include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Rural Electrification Administration, and Farm Security Administration, which is now part of the Farmers Home Administration.

Importance

PWPs help to create employment, especially during an economic downturn such as the great depression of 1929 to 1939. By embarking on enormous projects, the government spends more than it gets from taxes or other sources of revenue; this is known as expansionary fiscal policy. Government spending in the form of payment of cash to those that are vulnerable helps to alleviate poverty and makes money available to the citizens. When money is available to the people, it increases aggregate demand which in turn stimulates the economy because the private sector would try to increase production by employing more people.

There are other benefits of public works programs such as helping vulnerable people to cope following natural disasters and humanitarian shocks such as crises.

Furthermore, the dignity of vulnerable people is improved because they work in exchange for cash instead of mere handing over of cash.

Limitations and Disadvantages

There is no significant evidence of public works programs sustaining employment or improving the lives of the affected people either through improved nutrition or education. This may be because of weak institutions that are required to checkmate possible errors and corruption in payments.

FAQs on Public works program