Straub, Stéphane2012-05-292012-05-292008-04https://hdl.handle.net/10986/6517This survey reviews the existing macro-level empirical literature on the link between infrastructure and development outcomes in a critical light. After providing a general framework that casts the relevant terms of the controversy on the real effect of infrastructure on growth in the context of an aggregate production function, it signals what are the relevant empirical questions to be addressed. This guides the systematic review of a number of empirical studies and the discussion of the main econometric challenges to the identification of the effect of infrastructure on output and productivity. Finally, building on related research, in particular in contract theory and political economy, the paper spells out several promising research avenues.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYACCOUNTINGACCOUNTING FRAMEWORKADBADVERSE SELECTIONAGRICULTUREAIRPORTSALLOCATIONAUTOMOBILEBOTTLENECKSBUREAUCRACYBUSINESS CYCLESCAPITAL EXPENDITURESCAPITAL INVESTMENTCENTRAL BANKCOLLUSIONCOMPARATIVE ADVANTAGECOMPETITIVENESSCONSTANT RETURNS TO SCALECONTRACT ENFORCEMENTCOST OF CAPITALCURRENT EXPENDITURESDEFICITSDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSDEVELOPMENT POLICIESECONOMETRIC ANALYSISECONOMETRICSECONOMIC EFFICIENCYECONOMIC GEOGRAPHYECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC HISTORYECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMIC RESEARCHECONOMIC THEORYECONOMICSECONOMIES OF SCALEELASTICITIESELASTICITYELECTRICITY SERVICESEMPLOYMENTEXTERNALITIESFINANCE INFRASTRUCTUREFISCAL POLICYFUTURE RESEARCHGDPGOVERNMENT EXPENDITURESGROWTH RATEGROWTH THEORYHIGHWAYHIGHWAY NETWORKHIGHWAYSHUMAN CAPITALINCOMEINCOME DISTRIBUTIONINCREASING RETURNSINDUSTRIAL ECONOMICSINEFFICIENCYINFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTINFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTSINSURANCEINSURANCE MARKETSINTERNATIONAL TRADEINVENTORIESINVENTORYINVESTMENT BANKINVESTMENT IN ROADSLATIN AMERICANLAWSLDCSMARGINAL BENEFITSMARGINAL COSTSMARGINAL PRODUCTMARGINAL PRODUCTIVITYMIDDLE EASTMIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIESMORAL HAZARDNATURAL MONOPOLIESNETWORK EXTERNALITIESNETWORK EXTERNALITYNORTH AFRICAOWNERSHIP STRUCTUREPER CAPITA INCOMEPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOSITIVE EFFECTSPRIVATE OWNERSHIPPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATIZATIONPRODUCTION FUNCTIONPRODUCTION FUNCTIONSPRODUCTIVITYPRODUCTIVITY GROWTHPUBLIC ENTERPRISESPUBLIC EXPENDITURESPUBLIC GOODPUBLIC GOODSPUBLIC POLICYRAILROADSREGULATORY FRAMEWORKRETURN ON INVESTMENTROADROAD INFRASTRUCTUREROAD INVESTMENTROADSSANITATIONSAVINGSSOUTH AMERICASPECIALIZATIONSTOCKSSUB-SAHARAN AFRICATELECOMMUNICATIONSTOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITYTRAFFICTRAFFIC CONGESTIONTRANSPORTTRANSPORT COSTSTRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURETRUEUTILITY FUNCTIONVEHICLEVEHICLE MANUFACTURERSVETOWAGESWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-4590