Building Conditions in Norwegian Local Governments: Trends and Determinants

In light of evidence of low levels of maintenance of public buildings, we investigate trends and determinants of public building conditions in Norwegian local governments. On average, the condition of Norwegian local public facilities have improved slightly in the period 2004 - 2016. Survey data suggest substantial fluctuations in building conditions and a negative relationship between building conditions in 2004 and 2016. A driver behind this result is high investments in local governments with poor building conditions in 2004. Further, we find no systematic relationship between the conditions in 2004 and maintenance expenditures in subsequent years. We conclude that if maintenance levels are too low, investment levels may be too high. Generally, our results hint at an unhealthy balance between maintenance spending and public spending. Finally, we find that both political and fiscal factors are important in explaining building conditions.