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The global economy may be crashing, but one sector set to cash in on the world recession is infrastructure, according to Lipper FMI.

A recent Lipper study found that an increasing number of governments in developed and emerging markets were planning to pump money into public works in an effort to kick-start their economies.

Further, before the current financial crisis took hold, the rise in infrastructure spending had led to a rapid growth in the number of specialist equity funds focusing on this area, said Bella Caridade-Ferreira, author of the report.

Over this year, there have been 15 new infrastructure fund launches in Europe, taking the total to 47 – tripling in size since 2006. Three years ago, there were only four funds.

During 2007, more than €5.5bn (£4.6bn) flooded into infrastructure funds.

Ms Caridade-Ferreira acknowledged that this year had seen sales and assets under management suffering from the downturn in markets.

However, she said government plans to stimulate the economy through infrastructure projects could reverse the trend.

“These funds have a long-term potential because of the stimuli that governments have been coming up with. Infrastructure funds have been growing in popularity since 2007 - there’s a real interest in infrastructure.”

State spending on infrastructure is set to jump dramatically over the coming months, according to Lipper.

US president-elect Barack Obama has already said he plans to spend approximately $25bn (£16.2bn) on projects such as roads, bridges and school repairs, with the aim of protecting jobs.

The UK government has said it is bringing forward £3bn of spending on major schemes such as road building, social housing and new schools.

Germany has also stated it will boost its infrastructure spending, and other European countries are expected to follow suit.

The majority of infrastructure funds available are actively managed and have a global remit.

A few funds focus on Europe and roughly a quarter specialise in Asia and the emerging markets, including the largest and best-selling fund this year, Invesco Asia Infrastructure, with 44 per cent of the market.

Ms Caridade-Ferreira said: “Invesco has stolen a march on its competitors. It’s got an advantage, as it created the first fund and got a move on its rivals."

Infrastructure funds are seen by some investors as a way to get exposure to emerging markets, as spending in the region is expected to remain robust.

China has also announced a €466bn spending spree on a wide range of projects in a bid to bolster the slowing economy.

Mexico and South Korea are planning public projects, while India and Russia also have significant infrastructure spending in the pipeline.