The Impact of Infrastructure on Development Outcomes
Organized by the Private Sector Development Research Network
Friday, 19 January 2024, from 9-10am EST
ABOUT THE SEMINAR
The paper that will be discussed during this seminar presents a meta-analysis of the infrastructure research done over more than three decades, using a database of close to a thousand estimates from 201 papers conducted between 1983–2022, reporting outcome elasticities. The analysis casts a wide net to include the transport, energy, and digital or information and communications technology sectors and the whole set of outcomes covered in the literature, including output, employment and wages, inequality and poverty, trade, education and health, population, and environmental aspects. The results allow for an update of the underlying parameters of interest, the “true” underlying infrastructure elasticities, accounting for publication bias, as well as for heterogeneity stemming from both study design and context, with a particular focus on policy relevant subsectors and developing countries.
To learn more, read the blog > here, which is part of the #Infra4Dev Blog Series showcasing recent World Bank economic research that explores how Infrastructure is critical for development.
The complete paper can also be found here.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Stéphane Straub
Chief Economist for Infrastructure, World Bank Group
Dr. Straub is a Chief Economist for infrastructure at the World Bank Group since September 1st, 2023. Prior to that, he was a Professor of Economics at the Toulouse School of Economics, Université de Toulouse Capitole (2008-2023), where he remains an associate member. He has held academic positions in the US, the UK and France, and was president of the European Development Network (EUDN) between 2018 and 2023.
Dr. Straub’s research focuses on issues of infrastructure, procurement, and more generally institutional development in the context of developing countries. For instance, a first part of his research agenda covers contractual arrangements for infrastructure projects (covering transport, energy, water and sanitation, and ICT), such as concessions and more generally public-private partnerships (PPPs). Another part of his research focuses on infrastructure impact (e.g., roads, electricity etc.), and generally the way firms and households deal with the lack of / availability of such services.
He holds a PhD in Economics and a Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies (DEA) from the University of Toulouse 1. He also has a Magistère in Economics & DEA Money, Finance and Banking from University of Paris I, Panthéon Sorbonne – École Normale Supérieure.
For more details about Dr. Straub’s work: link here
Watch full seminar here