Infrastructure

Colonial railways reshaped local economies in Bosnia, but lasting gains depended on human capital, state capacity, and external competition.

Africa needs to house nearly a billion new urban residents by 2050. Who's going to build it – and how will it be paid for?

New estimates of the social rates of return on investment in road infrastructure in emerging market and developing economies highlight substantial unrealised gains from redirecting advanced-economy savings towards public investment in developing coun...

Transport policy in developing countries requires context-specific solutions grounded in evidence, as slow travel speeds, informal systems, gendered safety concerns, and institutional constraints mean that common fixes like congestion charging or BRT are not universally effective, though better-designed mobility systems can expand access to jobs, markets, and opportunity.

High-speed rail expansion in China boosted agricultural productivity, enabling labour and land to be reallocated from agriculture without reducing agricultural output.

In rural India, roads and electricity complement each other, with their joint provision delivering far greater gains in dry-season agricultural productivity, assets, and consumption than either investment alone.

In post-revolutionary Mexico, transport infrastructure meant nation-building for the state, but a threat to identity and traditions for many Indigenous communities.