Inequity in infrastructure distribution and social injustice’s effects on Ethiopia’s efforts to build a democratic society are examined in this essay. By ensuring fair access to infrastructure, justice, and economic opportunity, those who strive for social justice aim to redistribute resources in order to increase the well-being of individuals, communities, and the nine regional states. The effects that social inequity and injustice of access to infrastructure have on Ethiopia’s efforts to develop a democratic society were the focus of the study. Time series analysis using principal component analysis (PCA) and composite infrastructure index (CII), as well as structural equation modeling–partial least squares (SEM-PLS), were necessary to investigate this issue scientifically. This study also used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to support the quantitative approach. The research study finds that public infrastructure investments have failed or have been disrupted, negatively impacting state- and nation-building processes of Ethiopia. The findings of this research also offer theories of coordination, equity, and infrastructure equity that would enable equitable infrastructure access as a just and significant component of nation-building processes using democratic federalism. Furthermore, this contributes to both knowledge and methodology. As a result, indigenous state capability is required to assure infrastructure equity and social justice, as well as to implement the state-nation nested set of policies that should almost always be a precondition for effective state- and nation-building processes across Ethiopia’s regional states.
{"title":"Impacts of infrastructure (in)equity and social (in)justice on democratic nation-building processes in Ethiopia","authors":"Ambaw Desalegn, Niguisse Solomon","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i2.1466","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i2.1466","url":null,"abstract":"Inequity in infrastructure distribution and social injustice’s effects on Ethiopia’s efforts to build a democratic society are examined in this essay. By ensuring fair access to infrastructure, justice, and economic opportunity, those who strive for social justice aim to redistribute resources in order to increase the well-being of individuals, communities, and the nine regional states. The effects that social inequity and injustice of access to infrastructure have on Ethiopia’s efforts to develop a democratic society were the focus of the study. Time series analysis using principal component analysis (PCA) and composite infrastructure index (CII), as well as structural equation modeling–partial least squares (SEM-PLS), were necessary to investigate this issue scientifically. This study also used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to support the quantitative approach. The research study finds that public infrastructure investments have failed or have been disrupted, negatively impacting state- and nation-building processes of Ethiopia. The findings of this research also offer theories of coordination, equity, and infrastructure equity that would enable equitable infrastructure access as a just and significant component of nation-building processes using democratic federalism. Furthermore, this contributes to both knowledge and methodology. As a result, indigenous state capability is required to assure infrastructure equity and social justice, as well as to implement the state-nation nested set of policies that should almost always be a precondition for effective state- and nation-building processes across Ethiopia’s regional states.","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82833542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article focuses on Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs, which has been criticized for lacking scientific evidence towards an effective municipal infrastructure management system. To ameliorate this, we contend that 21st-century management is not limited to the cardinal direction of motivation from the bottom hierarchy to the top hierarchy, as indicated by Maslow. We also argue that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory did not take cognizance of innovations and situational advancements embedded in societal dynamism. Our argument is located within the principles of the interpretive paradigm. This paradigm enables us to analyze the deficiencies inherent in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs within the 21st-century needs assessment perspective and re-establish the necessity for the novel motivation needs theory to cater for the changing world. In doing this, we engaged conceptual analysis as a method of analyzing or making sense of perceived complex concepts towards meaning-making. We conclude that an inclusive infrastructure needs assessment must be geared towards a reformed approach of people’s satisfaction, which informs the necessity to reconstruct Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. The needs satisfaction of the populace or community should be of prime importance, in addition to ensuring that people’s satisfaction is met towards enhancing and promoting socio-economic growth and development.
{"title":"Reconstructing Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs towards inclusive infrastructure development needs assessment","authors":"B. Omodan, Samuel Abejide","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i2.1483","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i2.1483","url":null,"abstract":"This article focuses on Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs, which has been criticized for lacking scientific evidence towards an effective municipal infrastructure management system. To ameliorate this, we contend that 21st-century management is not limited to the cardinal direction of motivation from the bottom hierarchy to the top hierarchy, as indicated by Maslow. We also argue that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory did not take cognizance of innovations and situational advancements embedded in societal dynamism. Our argument is located within the principles of the interpretive paradigm. This paradigm enables us to analyze the deficiencies inherent in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs within the 21st-century needs assessment perspective and re-establish the necessity for the novel motivation needs theory to cater for the changing world. In doing this, we engaged conceptual analysis as a method of analyzing or making sense of perceived complex concepts towards meaning-making. We conclude that an inclusive infrastructure needs assessment must be geared towards a reformed approach of people’s satisfaction, which informs the necessity to reconstruct Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. The needs satisfaction of the populace or community should be of prime importance, in addition to ensuring that people’s satisfaction is met towards enhancing and promoting socio-economic growth and development.","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78959945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The ultimate objective of the study was to investigate the effects of being landlocked on the living standards in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 1991 to 2019. Adopting the two-step estimation technique of System GMM (generalized method of moments), the study found that being landlocked has a negative and significant effect on the living standards in SSA countries when using GDP per capita as the living standard measure. Moreover, the historical living standard experiences of SSA countries have a positive and significant influence on the current living standard level. In addition, the population growth rate has a positive and significant effect on the living standards in SSA countries. On the other hand, the official exchange rate, broad money as a percentage of GDP, and inflation have a negative and significant effect on the living standards in SSA countries. Generally, the estimated result reveals the existence of a significant variation in the living standards in landlocked and coastal SSA countries. This study suggests that regional integration between landlocked and transit countries should be improved to minimize entry costs and increase access to global markets for landlocked countries. We argue that this study is of interest to landlocked and coastal countries to increase trade integration and promote the development of both groups, and it will contribute to the scarce empirical evidence.
{"title":"exus between being landlocked and living standards in Sub-Saharan African countries: A two-step System GMM analysis","authors":"Mekonnen Kumlachew Yitayaw, Habtamu Legese Feyisa, W. Mamo, Yohannes Kefale Mogess","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1421","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1421","url":null,"abstract":"The ultimate objective of the study was to investigate the effects of being landlocked on the living standards in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 1991 to 2019. Adopting the two-step estimation technique of System GMM (generalized method of moments), the study found that being landlocked has a negative and significant effect on the living standards in SSA countries when using GDP per capita as the living standard measure. Moreover, the historical living standard experiences of SSA countries have a positive and significant influence on the current living standard level. In addition, the population growth rate has a positive and significant effect on the living standards in SSA countries. On the other hand, the official exchange rate, broad money as a percentage of GDP, and inflation have a negative and significant effect on the living standards in SSA countries. Generally, the estimated result reveals the existence of a significant variation in the living standards in landlocked and coastal SSA countries. This study suggests that regional integration between landlocked and transit countries should be improved to minimize entry costs and increase access to global markets for landlocked countries. We argue that this study is of interest to landlocked and coastal countries to increase trade integration and promote the development of both groups, and it will contribute to the scarce empirical evidence.","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73651906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developing countries have witnessed a rise in infrastructure spending over the past decades; however, infrastructure spending in most developed countries, particularly the US, continues to decline. As a result, in 2021, the US Congress passed a Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which invests $1 trillion in the country’s infrastructure every year. Using the principal component analysis and VAR estimation, we analyzed the impact of infrastructure (transportation and water, railway networks, aviation, energy, and fixed telephone lines) on economic growth in the US. Our findings show that infrastructure spending positively and significantly impacted economic growth. Additionally, the impulse response analysis shows that shocks to infrastructure spending had positive and persistent effects on economic growth. Our results suggest that infrastructure investment spurs economic growth. Based on our findings, sustained public spending on transport and water, railway networks, aviation, energy, and fixed telephone lines infrastructure by the US government will positively impact economic growth in the country. The study also suggests that policies that promote infrastructure spending, such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) passed by the US Congress, should be enhanced to boost economic growth in the US.
{"title":"Infrastructure and economic growth: Evidence from the United States","authors":"Prince Fosu, Martinson Ankrah Twumasi","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1419","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1419","url":null,"abstract":"Developing countries have witnessed a rise in infrastructure spending over the past decades; however, infrastructure spending in most developed countries, particularly the US, continues to decline. As a result, in 2021, the US Congress passed a Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which invests $1 trillion in the country’s infrastructure every year. Using the principal component analysis and VAR estimation, we analyzed the impact of infrastructure (transportation and water, railway networks, aviation, energy, and fixed telephone lines) on economic growth in the US. Our findings show that infrastructure spending positively and significantly impacted economic growth. Additionally, the impulse response analysis shows that shocks to infrastructure spending had positive and persistent effects on economic growth. Our results suggest that infrastructure investment spurs economic growth. Based on our findings, sustained public spending on transport and water, railway networks, aviation, energy, and fixed telephone lines infrastructure by the US government will positively impact economic growth in the country. The study also suggests that policies that promote infrastructure spending, such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) passed by the US Congress, should be enhanced to boost economic growth in the US. ","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76079708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study used the case study research design to achieve its objective. Secondary data were collected from five public infrastructures in five African countries made up of Cameroon, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique. The analysis focused on the failures and successes in planning, development, and operation of public infrastructure according to the tenets of corporate governance theories chosen. The findings revealed that the failures in public infrastructure management as observed in three of the five cases studied, namely, the Olembe Stadium in Cameroon, the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project in Zimbabwe, and the Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital in Lesotho, originated mostly from the planning and development stages. On the other hand, the success recorded in two cases, which are Mozambique’s Maputo Development Corridor and Zambia’s Chirundu One-Stop Border Post, are attributable to the fact that they are governed by clear coordination in all stages of the public infrastructure management process with the clear involvement of all the stakeholders.
{"title":"The role of corporate governance in management of physical public infrastructures in some selected Sub-Saharan African countries","authors":"Serge Messomo Elle","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1382","url":null,"abstract":"This study used the case study research design to achieve its objective. Secondary data were collected from five public infrastructures in five African countries made up of Cameroon, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique. The analysis focused on the failures and successes in planning, development, and operation of public infrastructure according to the tenets of corporate governance theories chosen. The findings revealed that the failures in public infrastructure management as observed in three of the five cases studied, namely, the Olembe Stadium in Cameroon, the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project in Zimbabwe, and the Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital in Lesotho, originated mostly from the planning and development stages. On the other hand, the success recorded in two cases, which are Mozambique’s Maputo Development Corridor and Zambia’s Chirundu One-Stop Border Post, are attributable to the fact that they are governed by clear coordination in all stages of the public infrastructure management process with the clear involvement of all the stakeholders.","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87806751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The earth as a planet supports human life, and human activities attract extensive and intensive socioeconomic influence on the environment and the economy. Activities such as infrastructure development exert increasing and diverse concerns on environmental quality and hence on economic growth. While these variables appear interrelated due to many factors, including population growth, urbanization, industrialization, etc., however, the nature of the interrelationship is not largely known, especially in Nigeria. This study therefore investigated and examined their relationship using time-series data between 1990–2019 by adopting the co-integration estimation technique through the bounds test approach of the autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) method, using the percentage share of the building and construction sector (BCS) of GDP, carbon dioxide percentage of fuel combustion (CTE), the annual growth rate of agriculture (AFF), the annual population growth rate, the annual GDP growth rate, etc., as variables. The study revealed that infrastructure development and environmental quality explain economic growth and they all have both short- and long-run relationships, while population growth and AFF variables are positively significant to economic growth. The finding evidenced the significance of the relationship and consequently recommended new roles for infrastructure and production processes that consider environmental-quality mindsets to achieve positive outcomes of green economic growth in Nigeria.
{"title":"Infrastructure development, environmental quality and economic growth in Nigeria","authors":"A. Ojo, D. Amassoma","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1317","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1317","url":null,"abstract":"The earth as a planet supports human life, and human activities attract extensive and intensive socioeconomic influence on the environment and the economy. Activities such as infrastructure development exert increasing and diverse concerns on environmental quality and hence on economic growth. While these variables appear interrelated due to many factors, including population growth, urbanization, industrialization, etc., however, the nature of the interrelationship is not largely known, especially in Nigeria. This study therefore investigated and examined their relationship using time-series data between 1990–2019 by adopting the co-integration estimation technique through the bounds test approach of the autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) method, using the percentage share of the building and construction sector (BCS) of GDP, carbon dioxide percentage of fuel combustion (CTE), the annual growth rate of agriculture (AFF), the annual population growth rate, the annual GDP growth rate, etc., as variables. The study revealed that infrastructure development and environmental quality explain economic growth and they all have both short- and long-run relationships, while population growth and AFF variables are positively significant to economic growth. The finding evidenced the significance of the relationship and consequently recommended new roles for infrastructure and production processes that consider environmental-quality mindsets to achieve positive outcomes of green economic growth in Nigeria.","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83883799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The purpose of this article is to determine the equitability of airport and university allocations throughout Ethiopian regional states based on the number of airports and institutions per 1 million people. According to the sample, the majority of respondents believed that university allocation in Ethiopia is equitable. In contrast, the majority of respondents who were asked about airports stated that there is an uneven distribution of airports across Ethiopia’s regional states. Hence, both interviewees and focus group discussants stated that there is a lack of equitable distribution of universities and airports across Ethiopia’s regional states. This paper contributes a lesson on how to create a comprehensive set of determining factors for equitable infrastructure allocation. It also provides a methodological improvement for assessing infrastructure equity and other broader implications across Ethiopian regional states.
{"title":"Infrastructure equity issues of airports and universities across regional states in Ethiopia: A preliminary overview","authors":"Ambaw Desalegn","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1319","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this article is to determine the equitability of airport and university allocations throughout Ethiopian regional states based on the number of airports and institutions per 1 million people. According to the sample, the majority of respondents believed that university allocation in Ethiopia is equitable. In contrast, the majority of respondents who were asked about airports stated that there is an uneven distribution of airports across Ethiopia’s regional states. Hence, both interviewees and focus group discussants stated that there is a lack of equitable distribution of universities and airports across Ethiopia’s regional states. This paper contributes a lesson on how to create a comprehensive set of determining factors for equitable infrastructure allocation. It also provides a methodological improvement for assessing infrastructure equity and other broader implications across Ethiopian regional states.","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90647584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The frenetic pace of urban growth in India has caused major concerns regarding the quality of urban livability. Thus, constructing livable cities has become a major goal for new urbanization in India. But urban livability as a behavioral function of the interaction between urban environment and individual characteristics is still understudied. Therefore, to enhance urban livability and construct people-oriented livable cities, this research study aimed to understand the perception of the residents of Guwahati, India, on urban livability and its determinants. Following the notion of uncertain geographic context problem (UGCoP), the current study developed an appropriate conceptual and methodological framework that evaluated the residents’ satisfaction with urban livability and the effect of its dimensions using statistical methods, which were exploratory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and Spearman’s rank correlation. The empirical results of the study indicate that residents’ mean satisfaction with the city’s livable condition is above dissatisfaction level (2.735) and the four examined dimensions have a positive influence upon residents’ satisfaction with urban livability. Additionally, different socio-economic attributes also exert significant effects on the overall satisfaction with urban livability. Therefore, this study is a practical example and model reference for enhancing urban livability in India, particularly for fast-growing cities.
{"title":"Urban livability and contextual uncertainties: An assessment of livability through the lens of urban dwellers in Guwahati, India","authors":"Anwesha Mahanta, Parijat Borgohain","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1395","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1395","url":null,"abstract":"The frenetic pace of urban growth in India has caused major concerns regarding the quality of urban livability. Thus, constructing livable cities has become a major goal for new urbanization in India. But urban livability as a behavioral function of the interaction between urban environment and individual characteristics is still understudied. Therefore, to enhance urban livability and construct people-oriented livable cities, this research study aimed to understand the perception of the residents of Guwahati, India, on urban livability and its determinants. Following the notion of uncertain geographic context problem (UGCoP), the current study developed an appropriate conceptual and methodological framework that evaluated the residents’ satisfaction with urban livability and the effect of its dimensions using statistical methods, which were exploratory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and Spearman’s rank correlation. The empirical results of the study indicate that residents’ mean satisfaction with the city’s livable condition is above dissatisfaction level (2.735) and the four examined dimensions have a positive influence upon residents’ satisfaction with urban livability. Additionally, different socio-economic attributes also exert significant effects on the overall satisfaction with urban livability. Therefore, this study is a practical example and model reference for enhancing urban livability in India, particularly for fast-growing cities.","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86971227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper assesses South Africa’s massive infrastructure drive to revive growth and increase employment. After years of stagnant growth, this is now facing a deep economic crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This drive also comes after years of weak infrastructure investment, widening the infrastructure deficit. The plan outlines a R1 trillion investment drive, primarily from the private sector through the Infrastructure Fund over the next 10 years (Government of South Africa, 2020). This paper argues that while infrastructure development in South Africa is much-needed, the emphasis on de-risking for private sector buy-in overshadows the key role the state must play in leading on structurally transforming the economy.
{"title":"The role of private finance in infrastructure development in South Africa—A critical assessment","authors":"Sonia Phalatse","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1391","url":null,"abstract":"This paper assesses South Africa’s massive infrastructure drive to revive growth and increase employment. After years of stagnant growth, this is now facing a deep economic crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This drive also comes after years of weak infrastructure investment, widening the infrastructure deficit. The plan outlines a R1 trillion investment drive, primarily from the private sector through the Infrastructure Fund over the next 10 years (Government of South Africa, 2020). This paper argues that while infrastructure development in South Africa is much-needed, the emphasis on de-risking for private sector buy-in overshadows the key role the state must play in leading on structurally transforming the economy.","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85671395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
China’s economic structure has made subtle changes with the development of digital economy. Along with the marginal diminishing effect of Chinese monetary policies and the increase of the overall leverage ratio, the Chinese economic growth mode of relying on real estate, trade and infrastructure construction in the past will not be sustainable in the next decade. This paper makes a theoretical analysis on the reduction of the search cost in digital economy. Also, this paper used empirical methods to study the relationship between China’s economic growth and digital infrastructure construction. In conclusion, the digital economy has reduced the search cost for people, and big data will become a product factor participating in labor distribution. In addition, this paper proposes for the first time that digital economy can effectively restrain inflation. The Chinese government needs to attach importance to the issue that current internet enterprise oligarchs will probably monopolize the usage of big data in the development of digital economy in the future and become the obstacle to effective economic growth. In addition, close attention should be paid to the vulnerabilities of financial and taxation systems for digital economic entities to avoid continuous disguised tax subsidies to internet oligarchs, thus preventing industrial monopoly.
{"title":"Digital infrastructure and economic growth—Evidence for China","authors":"Anqi Zhou","doi":"10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1397","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v6i1.1397","url":null,"abstract":"China’s economic structure has made subtle changes with the development of digital economy. Along with the marginal diminishing effect of Chinese monetary policies and the increase of the overall leverage ratio, the Chinese economic growth mode of relying on real estate, trade and infrastructure construction in the past will not be sustainable in the next decade. This paper makes a theoretical analysis on the reduction of the search cost in digital economy. Also, this paper used empirical methods to study the relationship between China’s economic growth and digital infrastructure construction. In conclusion, the digital economy has reduced the search cost for people, and big data will become a product factor participating in labor distribution. In addition, this paper proposes for the first time that digital economy can effectively restrain inflation. The Chinese government needs to attach importance to the issue that current internet enterprise oligarchs will probably monopolize the usage of big data in the development of digital economy in the future and become the obstacle to effective economic growth. In addition, close attention should be paid to the vulnerabilities of financial and taxation systems for digital economic entities to avoid continuous disguised tax subsidies to internet oligarchs, thus preventing industrial monopoly.","PeriodicalId":41907,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79424281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}