Search

Does financing respond to changes in productive opportunities, even for the world's poor? We answer this question by examining the response of private bank financing to an infrastructure program that brought road access to unconnected Indian villages. This program prioritized roads for villages above specific population thresholds, allowing us to exploit the resultant discontinuities for identification. Using detailed data from a large bank, we find that 75 |$\%$| more villagers get loans, and the average amount lent to them is 30 |$\%$| –35 |$\%$| higher, in villages just above these thresholds. District-level analyses further suggest that roads and loans are complements in the growth process. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe Jakarta–Bandung High-Speed Railway has been widely seen as China’s signature Belt and Road Initiative project in Indonesia. To date, there is scant analysis of how risk has been managed throughout the project’s life cycle or of the dynamics of power relationships – the conflicts and compromises made between coalitions of the capitalist and political classes – that are intrinsic to China–Indonesia infrastructure co-operation. This article fills this gap by investigating how Chinese companies have managed risks by building alliances with dominant socio-political forces and state capital in Indonesia – designated here as “ex post risk management.” To explore this ex post risk management, this article applies Gramscian state theory and brings the conceptualisation of risk and social forces into dialogue. It contends that the understanding of risk and risk management are contingent upon negotiated compromises between different social forces – state capital, internationalised state apparatuses, and industrial capital – that are bound via infrastructure financing and other ongoing industrial and construction projects in Indonesia. These interactive dynamics have resulted in the institutionalisation of risk through and within the state that derides the social foundation of Indonesia’s current infrastructure regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates the digital transformation policy framework and strategies for digital technology implementation and adoption in Albania. Topics discussed include policies and initiatives to enable network infrastructure investment and increase access to ultra-high-speed broadband connectivity, programs to develop a user-centric digital government and help the digital transformation of businesses, digital inclusion, data protection and privacy, trust in e-commerce and cybersecurity.

The article evaluates the digital transformation policies and strategies in Serbia for fostering economic activity and competitiveness. Topics discussed include access to broadband services, initiatives for enabling network infrastructure investment, programs for developing user-centric digital government and digital transformation of businesses, digital inclusion and programmes to reduce digital divide with green digital technologies, data protection, privacy and cybersecurity.

Private sector engagement in infrastructure procurement and ownership can have benefits for both investors and society. However, a significant challenge for authorities is determining when private sector participation provides value for money. Private investors may demand high returns on their investments even in projects with seemingly low risks. Governments with good credit ratings and access to lower cost capital may view private investors overprice in comparison to the level of risk they take. This paper examines whether the financing premiums (in addition to the cost of state financing) of four public-private partnership road projects in Finland are reasonable relative to the risks borne by private partners, using long time series of actual data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to mostly use actual ex-post data on project costs over an extended period to evaluate whether the government overpays private investors. Our analysis indicates that the financing cost of the four projects is on average 201 basis points higher than the financing cost the government pays on its debt. We conclude that this premium is reasonable compensation for the risk the private investors bear in the projects. This finding has implications for selecting the most effective procurement policy for road projects. • We use long time series of actual financial data from PPPs to calculate the financing cost of PPPs. • We conclude that the extra financing cost of the PPPs is a justified compensation for the risk transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highway infrastructure projects financed by real estate investment trusts (REITs) have garnered significant attention due to their potential for generating stable returns. However, assessing the risks associated with such projects remains a critical challenge. This study addresses this gap by proposing a novel approach to risk assessments utilizing the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) integrated with Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). Unlike traditional risk assessment methods, which often treat risk factors as isolated entities, the DEMATEL—ISM approach provides a comprehensive framework that reveals the direct and indirect relationships between risk factors, thus offering a systemic understanding of the interactions. The results found that falling market prices, insufficient operating revenues, and operational inefficiencies were direct influences, and high financing costs and force majeure were the fundamental influences, while other factors acted as intermediate influences. In addition, the study identifies direct and indirect relationships between different risk factors, providing a hierarchical topology of risk factors to reflect the relationships between the risk factors. The findings not only contribute to enhancing the understanding of risk dynamics in highway infrastructure REITs projects, but also offer a structured framework for risk assessment and mitigation. This research represents a significant innovation in the field of infrastructure investment risk management, offering practical implications for project planning, decision-making, and risk management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) are formed to finance and deliver large infrastructural projects that may not be entirely feasible by governments alone. This study investigates the intricate role of financial risks, subsidies, and bidding criteria in the context of PPPs in India, and their relationship to the amount and extent of investments made by private partners. Studies have claimed that the success of PPP projects is determined by the type of funding, the nature of risk undertaken by investors, and the bidding criteria used by a government to attract investors. However, there is sparse literature on these variables impacting the private investment in these projects. Thus, in an attempt to address this gap, we collated data from the World Bank for a ten-year period (i.e., 2009 to 2019) for the study variables, and used regression to analyze the hypotheses, while adopting both SPSS 24 and PROCESS Macro. This study disapproved some commonly held notions of risk relationships, such as the government using "viability gap" funding to attract private investment, and that "leverage" does not moderate the relationship between risk assumed and private investment, thereby contributing to the literature on private investment in PPPs as impacted by several factors. This study is among the first to recognize and elaborate on financial risk relationships, specifically in the context of Indian PPPs. These findings are significant for both private and public participants in terms of financial considerations in PPP projects, especially within the ambits of emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Founded in 1882, the Racing Club de France (RCF) was one of the very first sports clubs to exist in France. It began operating only in 1884, however, under the leadership of Georges de St Clair (secretary general) and Ernest Demay (president). After two difficult initial years, RCF was reorganized, and its responsibilities redistributed internally with the aim of starting afresh and extending its networks of influence. Until the end of the fifth President Michel Gondinet's mandate in 1908, the club was caught between issues of recognition by public authorities and social distinction, as well as geographic conquest and sport propaganda. The previous 26 years had, however, enabled the club's leaders to lay the foundations of RCF's long-standing presence in France's sports sphere, heralding its arrival on the international stage. This article contributes to understanding the political, economic, cultural, and social relationships between the Parisian elite and sport. RCF developed a range of sports, first based on athletics, then opening up to other practices. The stances adopted vis-à-vis values and the champion's role, as well as infrastructure financing and women's position, attested not only to a certain relationship to sport, built on excellence and performance, but also to the RCF's contribution to a social undertaking based on an educational project, a political concept, and the intention to participate in change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the conditions under which major infrastructural investments generate electoral returns. It addresses when and how the constraints imposed by myopic voters under democracy can be overcome. We argue that sustained policy spillovers are critical to broadening the pool of beneficiaries and yielding significant returns to the incumbent in the medium to long run. We make this case by analyzing Luz para Todos (LPT)—a large-scale rural electrification scheme implemented in Brazil by the Workers' Party (PT). Leveraging the LPT's quasi-experimental allocation, we document its positive and persistent impact on the PT's vote support several years after the program started running. We then illustrate the mechanism of policy spillovers by showing the impact of the LPT on the provision of education in targeted areas. Our findings suggest that infrastructure policies are more likely to generate electoral returns when the policy provision entails spillover effects through other policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zimbabwe has been actively investing in its public infrastructure over the past decade, undertaking projects like rehabilitating major roads, expanding airports, and increasing power generation capacity. However, financial constraints have led to delays in completing these projects, highlighting a significant funding gap for infrastructure development. To address this, Zimbabwe requires annual investments of approximately US$2 billion until 2032, with the public sector currently contributing around 20% annually. This study aimed to evaluate the current state and role of public sector accounting in attracting private sector investment to bridge this funding gap. Employing an inductive qualitative approach, the study gathered data through interviews and document analysis. Fifteen interviews were conducted, achieving data saturation, and documents analysed included financial reports, public investment management guidelines, and the Public Finance Management Act (Chapter 22:19). The findings revealed that Zimbabwe's public sector accounting landscape is undergoing reform, including the mandatory adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) through Statutory Instrument 41 of 2019. This move is anticipated to strengthen public sector accounting, disclosures, and accountability, thereby bolstering private sector confidence and encouraging investment in public-private partnerships for infrastructure development. The authors recommend prioritizing skills development to ensure a smooth and efficient transition to IPSAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the history of Warsaw, the initiative to build Olympic-sized sports infrastructure has been undertaken several times. None of those attempts resulted in the submission of an official host city bid to the International Olympic Committee. At no time in the twentieth century were there sufficient financial resources to build Olympic venues and hold the games in Warsaw, or at least there was no conviction about the existence of such resources and the legitimacy of their use. The effort to organize the Olympics in the capital city of the Second Republic of Poland (1918–1939) required elevating the project to the top of the hierarchy of investment priorities of the young state. The outbreak of World War II prevented the completion of the initiative. After the war the prospective development of an Olympic District in Warsaw turned out to be impossible due to the enormity of more urgent needs. The last attempt to organize the games in Warsaw was the project of The Vistulian Games in 2012 launched during the post-communist political transformation of the 1990s. This project did not gain political support, as at that time Poland was recovering from the economic and social crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major risk factor for various cardiovascular diseases and chronic heart failure. Although medication can help lower blood pressure, it often has side effects. Gene therapy using small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been proposed as a potential solution to regulate blood pressure by targeting proteins involved in blood pressure regulation, such as angiotensinogen. A study on rats aimed to determine the effect of intravenously administered siRNA-angiotensinogen on blood pressure. The siRNA was designed using sequenceangiotensinogen mRNA Rattus norvegicus obtained from NCBI and was given to normal and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) in different doses. Blood pressure measurements were taken at various intervals after treatment, and angiotensinogen protein was isolated from blood plasma for analysis. The results showed that siRNA treatment decreased blood pressure in both normal rats and SHR, while the placebo group did not experience a decrease in blood pressure. The reduction in blood pressure in the SHR group ranged from 21-53% (SBP) and 17-58% (DBP) compared to the control group. Gene therapy using siRNA has the potential to provide longlasting and highly specific control of blood pressure, and further research is needed to explore its effectiveness and safety in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional waste management is a crucial aspect in ensuring environmental sustainability and public health in the Probolinggo Regency and City. One of the main challenges in the development of regional waste management is the financing of the necessary infrastructure to achieve these goals. This research aims to analyze the selection of infrastructure financing schemes in the development of regional waste management in the Probolinggo Regency and City. The research methodology involves field surveys, interviews with relevant stakeholders, and economic and financial data analysis. The investment analysis method used includes calculations of Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR), considering Availability Payment financing. Additionally, this study will also analyze Life Cycle Cost (LCC) while considering various financing schemes, including government financing schemes (APBN/APBD) and nongovernment financing schemes such as Public-Private Partnership (PPP) schemes like Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and Regional Loans. The results of the analysis show that all financing schemes, both government and non-government, yield viable results. These three schemes are then validated through Focus Group Discussions (FGD) using financial and non-financial criteria. The selected financing scheme is the regional loan, with the second alternative being APBN & APBD. Meanwhile, the BOT Public-Private Partnership scheme is considered as the last alternative financing scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how political risk influences partner selection in multipartner alliances, and consequently their diversity. We propose a two-stage theoretical model—first, a lead firm is selected to lead the alliance; second, the lead firm selects other partners—and we argue that political risk affects both stages. In the first stage, firms with knowledge of and influence in the project country are selected to lead projects in countries with high political risk. In the second stage, the lead firm selects a group of partners with knowledge and influence to ensure that the alliance—as a whole—has the resources needed in such countries. We also show, as a corollary, that the imperative to find these resources drives the lead firm to work with more-diverse multipartner alliances despite the higher coordination costs involved. We test our hypotheses by analyzing, first, the selection of the lead firm in 1,044 multipartner banking syndicates that financed some of the world's largest infrastructure projects in 68 countries between 2003 and 2012. Controlling for the lead firm, we then examine how political risk affects the selection of other partners in the multipartner alliance by comparing the realized syndicates with over 33,000 counterfactual (unrealized) multipartner syndicates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure development is a major driver of biodiversity loss globally. With upward of US$2.5 trillion in annual investments in infrastructure, the financial sector indirectly drives this biodiversity loss. At the same time, biodiversity safeguards (project‐level biodiversity impact mitigation requirements) of infrastructure financiers can help limit this damage. The coverage and harmonization of biodiversity safeguards are important factors in their effectiveness and therefore warrant scrutiny. It is equally important to examine the extent to which these safeguards align with best‐practice principles for biodiversity impact mitigation outlined in international policies, such as that of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We assessed the biodiversity safeguards of public development banks and development finance institutions for coverage, harmonization, and alignment with best practice. We used Institute of New Structural Economics and Agence Française de Développement's global database to identify development banks that invest in high‐biodiversity‐footprint infrastructure and have over US$500 million in assets. Of the 155 banks, 42% (n = 65) had biodiversity safeguards. Of the existing safeguards, 86% (56 of 65) were harmonized with International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 6 (PS6). The IFC PS6 (and by extension the 56 safeguard policies harmonized with it) had high alignment with international best practice in biodiversity impact mitigation, whereas the remaining 8 exhibited partial alignment, incorporating few principles that clarify the conditions for effective biodiversity offsetting. Given their dual role in setting benchmarks and leveraging private finance, infrastructure financiers in development finance need to adopt best‐practice biodiversity safeguards if the tide of global biodiversity loss is to be stemmed. The IFC PS6, if strengthened, can act as a useful template for other financier safeguards. The high degree of harmonization among safeguards is promising, pointing to a potential for diffusion of practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of China and the introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative have intensified regional great power competition. Seemingly, China and Japan have been competing over the export of infrastructure projects and access to the Southeast Asian market. Against this backdrop, this paper sheds light on recipient states' agency. Specifically, this paper explores how Indonesia has responded to Sino-Japanese competition through the perspective of economic hedging. In the realm of domestic railway development and the need to establish connectivity on Java, why did the Indonesian government decide to work with China to develop the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Rail project and Japan on the North Java Upgrading Line, as the two lines are not interoperable? Railway policy in Indonesia is strategic and pragmatic. On the one hand, Sino-Japanese competition diversifies Indonesia's options as it continues striving to strengthen infrastructure development. On the other hand, the need continually to strike a balance between the two great powers requires skill and flexibility. Therefore, maintaining policy autonomy and accepting economic costs make-up secondary states' responses to great power competition in turbulent times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: to study the current state and approaches of South Africa to the transformation of investment policy in the field of infrastructure projects in order to identify the results achieved and the prospects for ongoing reforms.Methods: general scientific methods were used in the study, in particular the analysis of statistics, the methods of deduction, analysis and synthesis. The sample of scientific studies and analytical materials on which the study is based draws on the work of scientists and experts on the topic in the region under study.Results: the assessment of the current state of the infrastructure sector of South Africa was carried out. The reasons for the need for reforms in the field of investment policy in order to stimulate the development of infrastructure in general and the implementation of infrastructure projects in particular were clarified, key directions for its transformation were identified. The tools being introduced were described and visually presented. An assessment of the results achieved to date was given.Conclusions and Relevance: the process of transformation of the investment policy of South Africa in the field of implementation of infrastructure projects is not yet complete. The achievement of all the goals set is hampered by both external factors, such as the consequences of the spread of the COVID-19 virus and others, and internal crises. Nevertheless, the attempts made by the state to increase the effectiveness of investment policy to improve the situation with infrastructure in the country have positive results. If the ongoing efforts are implemented to overcome the funding gap and solve problems associated with the low level of success of infrastructure projects, South Africa will not only be able to significantly improve the current situation in the infrastructure sector, but also significantly improve economic performance, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on increasing the country's competitiveness.

The paper seeks to identify some characteristics of infrastructure financing in Brazil between 2008 and 2019 in order to question the effectiveness of the different methods used to attract investors to the projects. Therefore, from a historical-deductive approach, aspects of macroeconomic and financial policies and the evolution of the domestic institutional framework in two sub-periods (2008-2014 and 2015-2019) will be listed, to be subsequently confronted with the results in investment terms. The research thus combines quantitative methods – through the treatment and analysis of secondary data – with qualitative elements in order to illustrate the different situations. Among the main findings, in the post-2008 period there was a considerable attraction of private capital to greenfield projects as a crowding-in effect of Brazilian state-owned companies – used as dynamos of a positive investment agenda. As of 2015, in turn, the option elected was to anchor expectations exclusively via equilibrium prices, with an inversion in the financing mechanisms, embodied in a greater share of the capital market ending up in a reduction in the level of aggregate investment in infrastructure in the country.

This research is intended to introduce and elaborate on the role of government sukuk as one of the macroeconomic policy instruments to cover the government budget deficit and infrastructure financing in Indonesia. This study developed an analysis model during the 2008.Q2-2020.Q4 period to show that the policy of developing Islamic financial instruments is closely related to macroeconomic variables. This study uses a dynamic linear ECM in developing government sukuk both in the short and long term. This study finds that sukuk budget deficit and infrastructure financing positively influence government sukuk issuance in the short term. While in the long term, infrastructure financing negatively influences government sukuk issuance. This study may suggest that the role of government sukuk as a substitute for foreign debt in building infrastructure must be further enhanced. The government should promote trust regarding government sukuk as a reliable investment instrument so that the government sukuk market expands and becomes an important source of financing for economic development, particularly infrastructure development.

We study how a fiscal expansion via infrastructure investment influences the dynamic impacts of monetary stimulus on credit allocation. We develop a two‐stage approach and apply it to the Chinese economy with a confidential loan‐level data set that covers all sectors. We find that infrastructure investment significantly weakened monetary policy's transmission to credit allocated to private firms, while reinforcing the monetary effects on loans to state‐owned firms. This fiscal‐monetary interaction channel is key to understanding the preferential credit access enjoyed by state‐owned firms during the stimulus period. Consequently, monetary stimulus crowded out private investment and decreased capital allocation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on regionalism, devolution, and infrastructure decision-making in the United Kingdom. Topics include the history of regional governance and the changing approaches to infrastructure investment since the Second World War; and the continued centralization of power and the lack of regional coherence in infrastructure decision-making compared to other OECD countries.

We investigate the impact of a decade-long, large public entrepreneurial infrastructure investment programme in an emerging European economy. Using a unique data set, we examine the short-run firm city and inter-city effects of entrepreneurial zones (EZs). EZs have a positive impact on business investment, sales and especially the export revenues of firms located within them. The positive economic effects of EZs are limited to host and neighbouring towns and cities, decrease with distance, and eventually become negative. This points to the localized nature of the effects of EZs and their potential for spatial redistribution and clustering of economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of OECD Development Policy Papers / Documents d'Orientation de l'OCDE sur le Développement is the property of Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Initiated in 2017 and formally established in 2020, the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) is the latest addition to the development finance landscape in Asia. This article provides an in‐depth analysis of MCDFʼs potential to offer additionality in development finance and its political legitimacy by comparing it to 18 development finance and capacity‐building organisations. The article finds that while the MCDF contributes to closing the substantial infrastructure financing gap in Asia, it risks overlapping with existing initiatives to such a degree that it may become an inefficient use of resources while lacking legitimacy as a multilateral organisation due to its unclear relationship with Chinaʼs Belt and Road Initiative. From this outset, and given the climate mandates of its multilateral development bank members, this article finds that if the MCDF focuses specifically on green and climate finance, it could carve out an area where it can become a much‐needed new platform for project development and coordination.

The article suggests feasible avenues to expand affordable housing infrastructure in Indiana. Topics discussed are state of housing in Indiana compared to the rest of U.S. states and national initiatives, measures that state and local governments can take to enable private sector development and utilization of federal funds such as incentives, subsidies and infrastructure investment, and ways public-private partnerships can use federal fund in local communities to increase affordable housing.

Copyright of Jurnal Ekonomi Syariah Teori dan Terapan is the property of Universitas Airlangga and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article examines the challenges and opportunities brought by the rapid growth of Idaho and its cities. Topics discussed include the leadership of the cities of Meridian and Nampa in growth, the state's sources of revenue used to fund infrastructure projects, and the need for an increase in focus on funding for local governments to maintain affordable cities while responding to the needs of its residents.

Zimbabwe requires USD2 billion annually until 2032 for financing economic infrastructure. However, the Government of Zimbabwe currently affords about 20% of this financing requirement leaving an 80% gap. The aim of the study was to establish the main sources of finance for economic public infrastructure and recommend alternative financing sources to supplement the current sources. The qualitative descriptive study collected primary data through 23 interviews conducted with officials from ministries of the Government of Zimbabwe, government departments and parastatal enterprises. Secondary data was obtained from documentary analysis. The study revealed bilateral loans from the China Exim Bank as the main source of finance for economic infrastructure, contributing USD2.1 billion whilst budget appropriations from the Government of Zimbabwe contributed USD1 billion during the 10-year period under study. Infrastructure finance was also obtained from development partners (USD200 million) and commercial and multilateral lenders (USD400 million). The study recommends developing a framework that promotes and protects private sector and/or innovative financiers of infrastructure through policy stability.

This article analyzes the actions of Tomé's textile entrepreneurs in its economic, political, and social expansion towards the local community during the first four decades of the 20th century, looking for possible answers about the purpose of this behavior, inserted in a process of productive readjustment of workers through industrial paternalism. In this way, the entrepreneurs with insertion policies and mainly financing public works linked to urban transformation, expand the classic dynamics of employer control towards a new area of influence and dominance, integrating the local community as a new subject receiving their paternalistic practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on fertility rates converging by class reframing the debate about public support for parents and family care. Topics include children increasing economic inequality and contributed to racial, ideological, and gender division; and supporting child-rearing without remaking the public infrastructure supporting family planning and care.