Barack Obama on Monday set out his plans to step up, rather than pull back, government spending in the wake of the financial crisis, underscoring a big shift in the US economic debate in just a few weeks.

The record-breaking economic stimulus advocated by the president-elect over the past few days is expected to include investments in health care, education and energy, as well as tax cuts and infrastructure spending, a package whose cost some Democrats have estimated at $700bn and which includes a number of long-standing Democratic commitments.