Editing Infrastructure (section)

==In the developing world==
[[File:Anarchist autonomous protest.jpg|thumb|[[Anarchist]] protest for [[public transportation]] in [[Porto Alegre]]]]
According to researchers at the [[Overseas Development Institute]], the lack of infrastructure in many [[developing countries]] represents one of the most significant limitations to economic growth and achievement of the [[Millennium Development Goals|Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)]]. Infrastructure investments and maintenance can be very expensive, especially in such areas as landlocked, rural and sparsely populated countries in Africa. It has been argued that infrastructure investments contributed to more than half of Africa's improved growth performance between 1990 and 2005, and increased investment is necessary to maintain growth and tackle poverty. The returns to investment in infrastructure are very significant, with on average thirty to forty percent returns for telecommunications ([[Information and communications technology|ICT]]) investments, over forty percent for electricity generation, and eighty percent for [[roads]].<ref name=ODI1>Christian K.M. Kingombe 2011. [https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/6311.pdf Mapping the new infrastructure financing landscape] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411215934/https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/6311.pdf |date=2019-04-11 }}. London: [[Overseas Development Institute]]</ref>

===Regional differences===
The demand for infrastructure both by consumers and by companies is much higher than the amount invested.<ref name=ODI1/> There are severe constraints on the supply side of the provision of infrastructure in Asia.<ref>Peter McCawley (2010), '[http://apel.anu.edu.au/pdf/24-1/Articles/mccawley.pdf Infrastructure Policy in Developing countries'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017001815/http://apel.anu.edu.au/pdf/24-1/Articles/mccawley.pdf |date=2015-10-17}}, ''Asian-Pacific Economic Literature'', 24(1), May. See also Asian-Pacific Economic Literature Policy Brief No 19, May 2010, on '[https://www.webcitation.org/64MYnL7A1?url=http://apel.anu.edu.au/pdf/24-1/Policy/mccawley.pdf Infrastructure policy in developing countries in Asia'].</ref> The infrastructure financing gap between what is invested in Asia-Pacific (around US$48 billion) and what is needed (US$228 billion) is around US$180 billion every year.<ref name=ODI1/>

In Latin America, three percent of GDP (around US$71 billion) would need to be invested in infrastructure in order to satisfy demand, yet in 2005, for example, only around two percent was invested leaving a financing gap of approximately US$24 billion.<ref name=ODI1/>

In Africa, in order to reach the seven percent annual growth calculated to be required to meet the [[Millennium Development Goals|MDGs]] by 2015 would require infrastructure investments of about fifteen percent of GDP, or around US$93 billion a year. In [[fragile state]]s, over thirty-seven percent of GDP would be required.<ref name=ODI1/>

===Sources of funding for infrastructure===
The source of financing for infrastructure varies significantly across sectors. Some sectors are dominated by [[government spending]], others by [[development aid|overseas development aid (ODA)]], and yet others by [[private sector|private]] investors.<ref name=ODI1/> In California, infrastructure financing districts are established by local governments to pay for physical facilities and services within a specified area by using property tax increases.<ref>{{Cite book|title=California Land Use and Planning Law|last1=Barclay|first1=Cecily|last2=Gray|first2=Matthew|publisher=Solano Press|year=2016|isbn=978-1-938166-11-2|edition=35|location=California|pages=585}}</ref> In order to facilitate investment of the private sector in developing countries' infrastructure markets, it is necessary to design risk-allocation mechanisms more carefully, given the higher risks of their markets.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Koh |first=Jae-myong |title=Green Infrastructure Financing : Institutional Investors, PPPs and Bankable Projects |date=2018 |isbn=978-3-319-71770-8 |location=Cham, Switzerland |oclc=1023427026}}</ref>

The spending money that comes from the government is less than it used to be. From the 1930s to 2019, the United States went from spending 4.2% of GDP to 2.5% of GDP on infrastructure.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=COVID-19 Status Report|url=https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/covid-status-report/|access-date=2020-11-05|website=ASCE's 2017 Infrastructure Report Card|date=23 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref> These under investments have accrued, in fact, according to the 2017 ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, from 2016 to 2025, infrastructure will be underinvested by $2 trillion.<ref name=":5" /> Compared to the global GDP percentages, The United States is tied for second-to-last place, with an average percentage of 2.4%. This means that the government spends less money on repairing old infrastructure and or on infrastructure as a whole.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/10/20/large-economic-gains-can-come-from-mundane-improvements-in-policy|title=Large economic gains can come from mundane improvements in policy|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2018-10-25|language=en}}</ref>

In [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], governments spend around US$9.4 billion out of a total of US$24.9 billion. In [[irrigation]], governments represent almost all spending. In transport and energy a majority of investment is government spending. In [[Information and communication technologies|ICT]] and [[water supply]] and [[sanitation]], the private sector represents the majority of capital expenditure. Overall, between them aid, the private sector, and non-[[OECD]] financiers exceed government spending. The private sector spending alone equals state capital expenditure, though the majority is focused on ICT infrastructure investments. External financing increased in the 2000s (decade) and in Africa alone external infrastructure investments increased from US$7 billion in 2002 to US$27 billion in 2009. China, in particular, has emerged as an important investor.<ref name=ODI1/>