Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
1. Introduction2. Infrastructure Needs and Reality3. The Dubious Status of Formal Project Evaluation Procedures4. Inferior and Unworthy Transportation Mega-Projects5. Inaccuracies in Cost and Demand Forecasts6. Mega-Project History and Decision-Making7. Interest Groups: Advocacy and Opposition8. The Decisive Role of Project Funding9. Overseeing Institutions10. Alternative Decision Criteria: Equity, Economic Development, and Environmental Externalities11. Why Unworthy Mega-Projects?
Synopsis
This book explores the various economic and institutional factors that explain why huge investments are made in unworthy transportation mega-projects in the US and other countries. It is based on research, the general literature, economic analyses, and results from a specifically collected database showing that a significant proportion of implemented mega-projects have been found to be inferior ex-ante or incapable of delivering the returns they promised ex-post. Transportation infrastructure and other public investments of a similar scope ("mega-projects") reflect public sector priorities and objectives, non-pecuniary as well as financial constraints, and a range of decision-making processes. This book describes how decisions made in the public sector with respect to transportation infrastructure investments are affected by the large populations and territories they serve, the estimation of the substantial opportunity costs they entail, the formal procedures instituted for quantitatively appraising projected outcomes and monetary returns, and the political environment in which these decisions are made.