FORWORD – George M. McCarthy

1. Introduction: What Makes Infrastructure Special? – José A. Gómez-Ibáñez and Zhi Liu

PART 1. INFRASTRUCTURE, GROWTH, AND POVERTY

2. Infrastructure Stocks and Macroeconomic Performance Across Countries – Gregory K. Ingram and Zhi Liu

3. Infrastructure and the Poor – Sameh Wahba, Somik Lall, and Hyunji Lee

PART 2. INFRASTRUCTURE AND CITIES

4. Infrastructure and Urban Form – Edward L. Glaeser

5. Infrastructure and the Competitiveness of Cities – Daniel J. Graham, Daniel Hörcher, and Roger Vickerman

PART 3. INVESTMENT APPRAISAL, BIASES, AND POLITICS

6. The Development of Evaluation Methods for Infrastructure Projects – Don H. Pickrell

7. How (In)Accurate Is Cost-Benefit Analysis? Data, Explanations, and Suggestions for Reform – Bent Flyvbjerg and Dirk W. Bester

8. Infrastructure’s Narrow Passage: Between Perverse Excess and Perverse Deficit – John D. Donahue

PART 4. INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE

9. Infrastructure Finance – Akash Deep

10. Infrastructure Finance Through Land Value Capture – José A. Gómez-Ibáñez, Yu-Hung Hong, and Du Huynh

PART 5. REGULATION, PRIVATIZATION, AND STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES

11. Infrastructure “Privatization”: When Ideology Meets Evidence – Antonio Estache

12. Price-Cap Regulation of Infrastructure – Sock-Yong Phang

13. Evolution of a Regulatory Regime: British Water Industry, 1989—2020 – Sir Ian Byatt

14. The Changing Role of State-Owned Enterprises – O. P. Agarwal and Rohit Chandra

PART 6. INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION

15. Transport Infrastructure and Integration of the European Union – José Manuel Vassallo

16. National Infrastructure Policies in Japan: Focusing on Railways – Fumitoshi Mizutani and Miwa Matsuo

17. High-Speed Rail and City Clusters in China – Zheng Chang

PART 7. COPING WITH RADICAL UNCERTANTIES

18. Infrastructure and Climate Change – Henry Lee

19. New Technologies in Infrastructure – Shashi Verma

20. Infrastructure and the Sharing Economy – Andrew Salzberg and O. P. Agarwal

"This informative, timely book offers a rich array of insight: comparisons across sectors and countries, connection between policy ideas and implementation, and appraisal of noteworthy experiences."

— Weiping Wu, Director of the M.S. Urban Planning program, Columbia University

"The content is highly relevant right now. As countries worldwide are designing economic recovery and stimulus programs from the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of infrastructure has come—once again—to the forefront of policy discussions. The analysis and policy recommendations and lessons will be invaluable to developed and developing countries."

— Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Former Regional Director of Sustainable Development, Africa, World Bank

"A marvelous collection of essays by many of our era's leading thinkers about infrastructure investment, innovation, and regulation. At once authoritative, balanced, up to date, global in scope, and chock-full of fascinating detail, it will, I am confident, be the gold standard work in this field for years to come."

— Alan Altshuler, Ruth and Frank Stanton Professor Emeritus in Urban Policy and Planning, Harvard Kennedy School

"As the United States debates reinvesting in aging infrastructure, as China and other countries catapult ahead with next-generation domestic and international infrastructure projects, and as the changing climate reminds us that we design durable infrastructure systems for the uncertain future, not the past, there is no better resource for scholars and practitioners than this timely volume. Leading figures in infrastructure policy address challenges from measuring the economic impacts of major public works of the 20th century to the integration of today's emerging, decentralized transportation and energy technologies, all under one big, fascinating tent."

— Sheila Olmstead, Professor of Public Affairs, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin

"Infrastructure seems to be on everyone's mind—in the United States, China, and around the world. Trillions of dollars here, trillions there. But what do we really know? The international focus helps untangle issues of economic impact, equity, financing, and innovation in a way that generates important insights. This book is an intellectual smorgasbord. It has something for everyone."

— Daniel Sperling, Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis; Distinguished Blue Planet Prize Professor of Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy

"The Lincoln Institute's Infrastructure Economics and Policy speaks to the once-in-a-generation opportunity our nation currently faces to invest in impactful, innovative, equitable, and sustainable infrastructure. For those of us who are practitioners in the field, the book offers a thought-provoking and insightful analysis of infrastructure policy and practice and the challenges and opportunities governments face when making major infrastructure investments."

— Polly Trottenberg, Transportation Practitioner and Policy Expert, former New York Transportation Commissioner

José A. Gómez-Ibáñez is the Derek C. Bok Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy Emeritus at Harvard University.

Zhi Liu is director of the China Program at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, we integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.