Trends and Policy Options
6 items available
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These studies, sponsored by the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF)--a multidonor technical assistance facility hosted by the World Bank--aim at helping developing countries improve the quality of their infrastructure through private sector involvement.
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Publication
Public-Private Partnerships for Urban Water Utilities : A Review of Experiences in Developing Countries
(World Bank, 2009-02-01)This study provides objective information and analysis on the performance of public-private partnerships (PPP) projects in urban water supply and sanitation in developing countries. It reviews the spread of urban water PPP projects during the past 15 years, and assesses whether and how they have helped to improve services and expand access for the populations concerned. The study uses a structured framework to assess the performance of more than 65 large water PPP projects that have been in place for at least five years (three years in the case of management contracts) and that provide services to a combined population of almost 100 million. By population size, this sample represents close to 80 percent of the water PPP projects that were awarded before 2003 and have been active for at least three years. The analysis focuses on the actual impact of these projects for the concerned populations, that is, the net improvements achieved under these partnerships. Chapter two summarizes the historical development of water PPPs in developing countries, reviewing the current state of the market, the rate of contract cancellations, and the evolution of the industry. Chapter three reviews the performance of PPP projects in terms of access, service quality, operational efficiency, and tariffs. Chapter four draws conclusions and lessons on how to make public-private partnership a more viable and sustainable option for improving water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in the developing world. -
Publication
Building Bridges : China's Growing Role as Infrastructure Financier for Sub-Saharan Africa
(World Bank, 2009)China and Africa have a long history of political and economic ties, which have greatly intensified in recent years. Both bilateral trade and Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa grew about fourfold between 2001 and 2005, accompanied by a major influx of Chinese enterprises and workers into the region. The natural resource sector, principally petroleum and to a lesser extent minerals, has been the major focus for both Chinese FDI to Africa and African exports to China. The report is structured along the following sections. Section two provides an overview of the growing economic ties between China and Africa, in particular the extent of current understanding of Chinese infrastructure finance in the region. Section three examines the data available from official Chinese government sources and discusses the methodological challenges inherent in quantifying the extent of official assistance for infrastructure finance. Section four presents the headline estimates on the value of Chinese finance based on the projects database developed for this report. Section five details the economic complementarities that exist between China and Africa, based on Africa's need for infrastructure and China's natural resource import requirements. Sections six and seven present a more detailed profile of Chinese-financed infrastructure projects in Africa on a sector-by-sector and country-by-country basis. Section eight presents the available information on financing mechanisms and terms, and considers the overall impact on country indebtedness. Section nine places the phenomenon of Chinese infrastructure finance into a broader international perspective, comparing it with flows provided by traditional Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) financiers and other emerging players such as India and the Arab countries. Finally, section ten draws out the main conclusions and implications. -
Publication
Does Private Sector Participation Improve Performance in Electricity and Water Distribution?
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2009)This study addresses the question with a rigorous econometric approach and distills global results from a multitude of evidence. The data set compiled is unique in its coverage, size, and composition, making it possible to address for the first time methodological problems that have plagued empirical research and hampered conclusive results. The findings provide some answers, but also indicate where the challenges lie going forward. Privately run water and electricity utilities outperform comparable state-owned companies in terms of labor productivity and operational efficiency, but staff reductions also occur. Policy makers need to be aware of and acknowledge both the benefits and the costs of reform. Clear communication between stakeholders plays an important role in the acceptance and success of private participation, and a strategy for mitigating labor issues should be an integral part of reform efforts. The study also makes it clear that the investment problem is not solved by private participation alone, and it raises questions about the scope for increasing residential tariffs in low-income countries and thus the long-term sustainability of improvements in service delivery, be it by public or private operators. -
Publication
Unlocking Land Values to Finance Urban Infrastructure
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)Urban growth throughout the developing world has created a challenge for financing infrastructure. Investment in infrastructure is needed to provide basic services for newly developed parts of urban areas. It is needed to meet the demand for a safer and more reliable water supply, higher standards for the removal and treatment of wastewater and solid waste, and the transportation requirements of a population whose expectations of mobility rise with household incomes. Infrastructure investment also is essential to the economic productivity of cities. This book examines an important additional option for local infrastructure finance: capturing land value gains for public investment. Land values are highly sensitive to infrastructure investment and urban economic growth. Public works projects such as road construction, water supply, and mass transit investment produce benefits that are immediately capitalized into surrounding land values. Many cities in developing countries have underused public lands that would be more valuable if sold and converted into infrastructure assets. Tapping land values was a large part of the investment strategy of Western countries in financing urban infrastructure during the 19th century, when cities were growing most rapidly. As part of the overall financing mix, using land assets for infrastructure finance has several advantages. Most instruments of this type generate revenues upfront, making it easier to finance lumpy investment projects. Mobilizing finance from land transactions also generates price signals that increase the efficiency of urban land markets and help rationalize the urban development pattern. -
Publication
Review of Risk Mitigation Instruments for Infrastructure Financing and Recent Trends and Developments
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007)The objective of the Review of Risk Mitigation Instruments for Infrastructure Financing and Recent Trends and Developments is to provide a concise yet comprehensive guide as well as reference information for practitioners of infrastructure financing, including private sector financiers and developing country officials. The work is also intended as a reference for institutions offering (or developing) risk mitigation instruments, allowing them to learn from each other's recent practices. The book is organized into five chapters with the following objectives: Chapter 1 Type of Risk Mitigation Instruments: increases awareness of the different types and nature of risk mitigation instruments currently available for private financiers. Chapter 2 Recent Trends in Risk Mitigation: highlights areas in risk mitigation for developing country infrastructure financing receiving recent attention. Chapter 3 Characteristics of Providers and Compatibility: summarizes the characteristics of multilateral, bilateral, and private providers of risk mitigation instruments and the compatibility of those instruments. Chapter 4 Innovative Application of Risk Mitigation Instruments: presents recent developments and innovative applications of risk mitigation instruments through case transactions. Chapter 5 Challenges Ahead: summarizes areas that pose challenges to the use of risk mitigation instruments as catalysts of infrastructure development. The focus of this book is on the multilateral development banks and agencies (that is, The World Bank Group and regional development banks and affiliates) and bilateral development agencies and export credit and investment agencies of major developed countries that have supported the compilation of this information. -
Publication
Regulatory Governance in Infrastructure Industries: Assessment and Measurement of Brazilian Regulators
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006)The objective of this report is twofold: to provide a comprehensive assessment of the state of regulatory governance in infrastructure industries in Brazil and to suggest possible indicators for future monitoring. After the introduction, Section 2 sets up the analytical framework for the report, identifying key components of regulatory governance, namely, autonomy (political and financial), procedures for decision making, instruments (including personnel), and accountability. Section 3 assesses each of these components in practice, reporting the results of a survey with 21 regulatory agencies in Brazil, which was designed and implemented by the research team in 2005. Section 4 measures regulatory governance based on three related indexes, ranks the Brazilian regulators among themselves, and compares the proposed indexes with two other indicators available in the literature. Section 5 presents the conclusions.