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Infrastructure Finance

  • Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a briefing on the final day of the Belt and Road Forum, at the Yanqi Lake International Conference Centre, north of Beijing, China May 15, 2017.

    Commentary

    The Driving Force Behind China's Ambitious 'Belt and Road Initiative'

    By committing trillions of dollars to infrastructure projects across 60 countries, China could transform the lagging economies of the region and place itself in the enviable position of being Asia's true pivot. But the new Silk Road blueprint presents risks as well as benefits.

    May 30, 2017

  • An unfinished monorail project in Sao Paulo, Brazil, March 3, 2016

    Commentary

    Regulating Infrastructures in the Tropics

    Regulation helps address the demands of investors who are seeking assurances that their investments are safe, while also reassuring democratically elected governments. Regulatory reform could help Brazil attract more private investment in its infrastructure.

    May 26, 2017

  • Trucks and port infrastructure, Sao Francisco do Sul, Brazil. July 2006

    Project

    Supporting Brazilian Regulation to Encourage Private Investment

    RAND Europe is supporting the Brazilian Logistics Investment Programme by delivering a roadmap to the Brazilian Ministries of Planning and Finance in logistics infrastructure investments. The purpose is to assess the current regulatory framework and encourage reform to enable greater participation of private investment.

    May 9, 2017

  • Report

    Report

    Regulation of logistics infrastructure in Brazil

    This report deals with the regulation of logistics infrastructures in Brazil, focusing in particular on the federal level. Brazil, one of the key emerging economies in the world, has a particular need for developing logistics infrastructures.

    May 8, 2017

  • Flags and signs warn drivers about lane closures along Pacific Coast Highway near San Francisco, California

    Commentary

    Rebuilding America's Infrastructure in the Trump Era

    Policymakers generally agree on the need to rebuild America's infrastructure. But the country is far behind in this area. Why? Transportation projects take time and money. And it's hard to predict how a project will affect its surroundings.

    Nov 14, 2016

  • The Olympic park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 2, 2016

    Commentary

    The Olympic Legacy — What Can Rio Learn?

    Rio will spend $14.4 billion on the Olympics. Like other host cities, it hopes to achieve an “Olympic legacy” to ensure that this investment pays dividends after the games and provides long-term economic, social, sporting, and cultural benefits.

    Aug 3, 2016

  • Los Angeles freeway

    Commentary

    Pay as You Go

    Using vehicle miles traveled as a means of distributing the cost of maintaining America's roads and bridges may not be the only answer. But it represents the kind of innovative thinking that is necessary when this sector of the American transportation infrastructure is desperately in need of a fix.

    Jul 22, 2015

  • Vehicles driving toward Mt. Hood in Oregon

    Commentary

    How to Improve Oregon's Mileage-Fee Experiment

    Oregon is rolling out the nation's first large-scale pilot to examine switching to a mileage fee instead of the gas tax. The trial is a welcome next step toward understanding how mileage fees can be deployed.

    Jul 7, 2015

  • Central Texas Roadway System map

    Project

    Examining Feasibility of Time-of-Day Tolls to Reduce Congestion

    To reduce traffic along a heavily congested Texas toll road, researchers used stated preference surveys and discrete choice models to understand how motorists will respond to alternative time-of-day pricing policies.

    Jun 19, 2015

  • Flood waters from Hurricane Isaac partially submerge homes in Lafitte, Louisiana neighborhoods in August 2012

    Commentary

    Future of Coastal Flooding

    President Obama's executive order that directs federal agencies to plan and build for higher flood levels as they construct new projects in flood-prone regions will affect hundreds of billions of dollars of future public works projects. In an ideal world, planners would estimate the benefits and costs for each project, taking into account everything from the details of the local landscape to the potential for adaptive responses over time.

    Feb 25, 2015

  • A bulldozer is parked in the Queens borough of New York where a concrete foundation is all that remains of a house that burned to the ground during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012

    Report

    Lessons Learned from Implementing Infrastructure Resilience Guidelines

    The Presidential Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force developed guidelines to ensure that federal agencies incorporate key principles of resilience into their formulation, evaluation, and prioritization of infrastructure investments related to Sandy rebuilding. An initial assessment of the implementation of the guidelines identifies opportunities and challenges.

    Dec 9, 2014

  • Russia's Prime Minister Medvedev and President Putin attend a meeting with members of the Russian Parliament in Yalta, Crimea, August 14, 2014

    Commentary

    Crimean Adventure Will Cost Russia Dearly

    Moscow may have overreached, as it appears ill-prepared to come up with the necessary funds to cover Crimea-related costs. Infrastructure improvements, development aid, government operations, and other costs will be a multi-billion drain — as much as $4.5 billion per year — on Russia's already strained budget.

    Sep 8, 2014

  • Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (2nd R) and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (R) walk as they arrive to the site of previously burnt ivory, in Nairobi National Park May 10, 2014

    Commentary

    In Africa: U.S. Promotes Security, China Does Business

    Africans require both security and economic growth. Global powers like China and the United States do not need to choose between the two when focusing their foreign policy efforts.

    May 31, 2014

  • Labourers work at a railway station construction site in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa

    Dissertation

    Emerging Infrastructure Financing Mechanisms in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Explores the new flows and policy implications of private sector and emerging countries investments of emerging infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Sep 9, 2013

  • Traffic Jam Stopped Cars Pennsylvania Turnpike Exit 358 Bristol Levittown

    Commentary

    Paying for Infrastructure, a Taxing Issue

    If the “user pays” idea is worth saving, the United States needs a different calculation, writes Liisa Ecola. Some states are looking at mileage fees. With mileage fees, you pay based on the number of miles you drive, rather than the number of gallons of gas used.

    May 16, 2013

  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineer contractor explains to FEMA Future Leaders how the levee system in New Orleans works

    Report

    Options for Financing Louisiana's Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System

    Incremental operations and maintenance costs for new hurricane protection infrastructure vary considerably across Louisiana's levee districts, but most can cover costs for infrastructure within their boundaries. Stakeholders will need to determine an equitable cost allocation for infrastructure that spans district boundaries.

    Nov 28, 2012

  • View of a person driving from the back seat of a car

    Commentary

    Getting Over the Privacy Hurdle to Mileage-Based Road Fees

    There is no need for privacy concerns to halt all discussion of new technologies to help address America's mounting transportation funding crisis, writes Liisa Ecola.

    Jun 6, 2012

  • Dissertation

    Dissertation

    Mileage-Based User Fee Winners and Losers: An Analysis of the Distributional Implications of Taxing Vehicle Miles Traveled, with Projections, 2010-2030

    Estimates changes in annual vehicle miles traveled in response to changes in the cost of driving that would result from adopting a mileage-based user fee.

    Apr 26, 2012

  • Commentary

    Commentary

    No Data? Big Problem.

    Good data can inform decision makers about what really works—how best to relieve congestion and improve supply-chain connectivity to make freight transportation—and hence the U.S. economy—more competitive, write Mortimer Downey, Joseph Schofer, and Johanna Zmud.

    Mar 20, 2012

  • Commentary

    Commentary

    Save Money — Hire Police

    The high cost of crime to society suggests that adding police officers may give large cities a sizable return on their investments, write Greg Ridgeway and Paul Heaton.

    Nov 22, 2011

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