Institutions, infrastructure, and economic growth

This paper develops a structural model of infrastructure and output growth that takes account of institutional and economic factors that mediate in the infrastructure-GDP interactions. Cross-country estimates of the model indicate that the contribution of infrastructure services to GDP is substantial and, in general, exceeds the cost of provision of those services. The results also shed light on the factors that shape a country's response to its infrastructure needs and offer policy implications for facilitating the removal of infrastructure inadequacies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.