The growth of the modern regulatory state is often explained in terms of an unambiguous increase in regulation driven by the actions of central governments. Contrary to this traditional narrative, we argue that governments often strove to weaken the autarkic tendencies of regional laws, thereby...

The infrastructure sector has the potential to generate wide differences in profits and economic outcomes. This paper examines financial returns and investment strategies for Britain’s turnpike roads in the early nineteenth century. There are three main findings. First, rates of return on...

In der Juniausgabe 2012 veröffentlichte der Wirtschaftsdienst einen Aufsatz mit dem Titel „Regulierung, Bildung und Wohlstand – der IW-Regulierungsindex“. Enrico Schöbel und Lars Petersen setzen sich damit kritisch auseinander und Dominik H. Enste und Jochen Wicher erläutern ihren...

Development of green infrastructures (renewable energy plants and transmission networks) is urgently needed if significant reductions of greenhouse emissions are to be accomplished in the next few decades. But the huge financial investments required by these infrastructures will not be...

There has been a significant increase in project financing in the public sector in Europe in the past decade, benefiting the implementation of infrastructure projects. In Italy, project financing is still much more limited than in such countries as Spain and the UK: the projects funded are...