Not All Infrastructure Projects Are Worth Doing, Research Paper Finds

A new paper by a pair of economists says the gains from infrastructure spending aren’t always clear-cut and recommends that policymakers examine the costs and benefits of each project. James Poterba, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, co-wrote the paper with Edward Glaeser of Harvard University for the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, a division of the nonpartisan Aspen Institute. In some cases, the authors write, the best solution doesn’t involve construction at all. Satellite broadband or 5G network access might be a good alternative to laying fiber optic cables to provide high-speed internet access to rural areas, they write. The paper suggests establishing an independent entity such as an infrastructure bank that would perform cost-benefit analyses on projects and that would fund only those where benefits exceed the costs. That would help keep political considerations out of the process, they write.