This paper analyzes the process of Internet diffusion across the world using a panel of 199 countries during 1990-2004. The authors group countries in two categories-low and high-income countries-and show that the Internet diffusion process is well characterized by an S-shape curve for both...

This paper focuses on an evaluation and benchmarking of the governance of regulatory agencies in the electricity sector in Latin American Countries (LAC). Using a unique database, we develop an index of regulatory governance and rank all the agencies in the LAC countries. The index is an...

This paper evaluates the impact of economic regulation on infrastructure sector outcomes. It tests the impact of regulation from three different angles: aligning costs with tariffs and firm profitability; reducing opportunistic renegotiation; and measuring the effects on productivity, quality of...

Policy makers are often confronted with a myriad of factors in the investment decision-making process. This issue is particularly acute in infrastructure investment decisions, as these often involve significant financial resources and lock-in technologies. In regions and countries where the...

This paper presents the findings of an impact evaluation to assess the performance and sustainability of the demand responsive community-based approach toward rural water supply in the state of Kerala, India. To achieve the study's objectives, conceptual definitions of the "performance" and...

Mientras varios paises de America Latina, el Caribe y otras regiones avanzan a la segunda fase de participacion privada en programas de infraestructura hay varias inquietudes que quedan por resolver respecto de los resultados de la primera fase. Estas preocupaciones hacen que los Gobiernos...

We assembled a large panel of project-level technical and financial data, as well as country-level economic, institutional, and political variables to assess how political competition and policy insulation feasibility determine private participation in financing infrastructure in emerging...

In 2010, a tsunami generated by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck the central-south zone of Chile. This short communication reports the direct impacts on the small-scale artisanal fishing capacity and coastal livelihoods along approximately 600 km of the coastline. Despite the magnitude of the...

As numerous countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and elsewhere are moving toward a second phase of private participation in infrastructure programs mostly through public-private partnership schemes and other countries are just beginning the process, several concerns remain from the...