A Methodological Framework for Prioritizing Infrastructure Investment
Policy makers are often confronted with a myriad of factors in the investment decision-making process. This issue is particularly acute in infrastructure investment decisions, as these often involve significant financial resources and lock-in techn...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/10/25124940/methodological-framework-prioritizing-infrastructure-investment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22855 |
| Summary: | Policy makers are often confronted with
a myriad of factors in the investment decision-making
process. This issue is particularly acute in infrastructure
investment decisions, as these often involve significant
financial resources and lock-in technologies. In regions and
countries where the infrastructure access gap is large and
pubic budgets severely constrained, the importance of
considering the different facets of the decision-making
process becomes even more relevant. This paper discusses the
trade-offs policy makers confront when attempting to
prioritize infrastructure investments, in particular with
regard to economic growth and welfare, and proposes a
methodological framework for prioritizing infrastructure
projects and portfolios that holistically equates such
trade-offs, among others. The analysis suggests that it is
not desirable to have a single methodology, providing a
single ranking of infrastructure investments, because of the
complexities of infrastructure investments. Rather, a
multidisciplinary approach should be taken. Decision makers
will also need to account for factors that are often not
easily measured. While having techniques that enable logical
frameworks in the decision-making process of establishing
priorities is highly desirable, they are no substitute for
consensus building and political negotiations. |
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