Infrastructure, Growth, and Inequality : An Overview

Academics and policy makers have long considered an adequate supply of infrastructure services to be essential for economic development. This paper reviews recent theoretical and empirical literature on the effects of infrastructure development on growth and income distribution. The theoretical literature has employed a variety of analytical settings regarding the drivers of income growth, the degree to which infrastructure represents a public or a private good, and the extent of market distortions, notably in capital markets. In turn, the empirical literature has used various econometric methodologies on time-series and cross-section macro and microeconomic data to test for the effects of infrastructure development. However, these empirical tests face challenging issues of measurement, identification, and heterogeneity. Overall, the literature finds positive effects of infrastructure development on income growth and, more tentatively, on distributive equity. Still, the precise mechanisms through which these effects accrue, and their full impact on welfare, remain relatively unexplored.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Calderon, Cesar, Serven, Luis
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank Group, Washington, DC 2014-09
Subjects:	ACCESS REGULATION, ACCOUNTING, AFFORDABILITY OF INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, AGRICULTURE, ASSETS, CAPITAL ACCUMULATION, CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, CAPITAL MARKETS, CAPITAL STOCK, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE, CONGESTION, CONSUMERS, COST OF CAPITAL, DEFICITS, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME, DRIVERS, DYNAMIC ANALYSIS, ECONOMETRICS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC LIFE, ECONOMIC REFORM, ECONOMIC SURVEYS, EIB, ELASTICITIES, ELASTICITY, ELASTICITY OF SUBSTITUTION, ELECTRICITY, EMERGING MARKETS, EMPLOYMENT, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, EXOGENOUS FACTORS, EXTERNALITIES, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, FINANCING OF INFRASTRUCTURE, FISCAL POLICY, FIXED INPUTS, FUEL, GDP, GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT, GOVERNMENT SPENDING, GROWTH MODEL, GROWTH POLICIES, GROWTH RATE, HIGHWAY, HIGHWAYS, HUMAN CAPITAL, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, INCOME GROUPS, INCOME LEVELS, INEQUALITY MEASURES, INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS, INFRASTRUCTURE CONGESTION, INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES, INFRASTRUCTURE PROVISION, INFRASTRUCTURE REFORM, INFRASTRUCTURE REHABILITATION, INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR, INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING, INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPLY, INSURANCE, INVENTORY, LEVIES, LIVING STANDARDS, MACROECONOMICS, MARGINAL COSTS, MARGINAL PRODUCTIVITY, MARKET DISTORTIONS, METROPOLITAN AREAS, MOBILITY, OPEN ACCESS, PENALTIES, PER CAPITA INCOME, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POOR HOUSEHOLDS, POSITIVE EFFECTS, POWER, POWER SECTOR, PRIVATE CAPITAL, PRIVATE PROVIDERS, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION, PRIVATIZATION, PRODUCTION COSTS, PRODUCTION FUNCTION, PRODUCTION INPUTS, PRODUCTIVITY, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, PROFIT FUNCTIONS, PROVISION OF INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC, PUBLIC ECONOMICS, PUBLIC ENTERPRISES, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC FINANCE, PUBLIC GOOD, PUBLIC GOODS, PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC INVESTMENT, PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION, PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, PUBLIC REVENUES, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SERVICES, PUBLIC SPENDING, PUBLIC WORKS, RAILWAYS, REAL GDP, REAL INTEREST RATE, REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, REGRESSION ANALYSIS, RETURN ON INVESTMENT, ROAD, ROAD BUILDING, ROAD IMPROVEMENT, ROAD NETWORK, ROAD QUALITY, ROAD TRANSPORT, ROADS, ROUTES, RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE, RURAL ROADS, SANITATION, TAX, TAXATION, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORM, TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES, TELEPHONE NETWORKS, TOLL, TOLL ROADS, TRANSPORT, TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT SERVICES, TRANSPORTATION, TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, URBAN ECONOMICS, UTILITIES, UTILITY PRIVATIZATION, UTILITY SERVICES, VARIABLE INPUTS, WAGES, WATER SERVICES, WEALTH,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/09/20210994/infrastructure-growth-inequality-overview https://hdl.handle.net/10986/20365
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