Public Capital, Growth and Welfare : : Analytical Foundations for Public Policy / / Pierre-Richard Agénor.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Agénor, Pierre-Richard,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2012]; ©2013
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Edition: Core Textbook
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (264 p.) :; 20 line illus.

In the past three decades, developing countries have made significant economic and social progress, from improved infant mortality rates to higher life expectancy. Yet, 1.3 billion people continue to live in extreme poverty in the developing world, leading policymakers to place a renewed emphasis on policies that could promote economic efficiency and the productivity of the poor. How should these policies be sequenced and implemented to spur growth? Would a large, front-loaded increase in public infrastructure investment yield the desired growth-promoting effect? Taking a rigorous look at this kind of investment and its outcomes, this book explores the different channels through which public capital in infrastructure may affect growth and human welfare, and develops a series of formal models for understanding how these channels operate. Bringing together a vast amount of research in one unifying framework, Pierre-Richard Agénor finds that in considering investment in infrastructure, a variety of externalities need to be factored into analytical models and introduced in policy debates. Lack of access to infrastructure not only constrains the expansion of markets and private investment, it may also hinder the achievement of health and education targets. Ease of access, conversely, promotes innovation and empowers women by allowing them to reallocate their time to productive uses. Laying a solid foundation of economic facts and ideas, Public Capital, Growth, and Welfare provides a comprehensive look at the critical role of public capital in development.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction and Overview -- 1. Basic Channels -- 2. Public Capital and Education -- 3. Public Capital and Health -- 4. Public Capital and Innovation -- 5. Public Capital and Women's Time Allocation -- 6. Public Capital and Poverty Traps -- 7. Research Perspectives -- Lessons for Public Policy -- References -- Index