Dealing with politics for money and power in infrastructure

Benitez, Daniel; Estache, Antonio; Søreide, Tina

doi:10.1596/1813-9450-5455

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(83 reference statements)

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“…Concerns about the negative effects of political influence in the infrastructure sector have been expressed in the media (Kohler ; Murphy ; Wiggins ) and the sector as a whole has been accused of being highly vulnerable to political bias (Benitez et al. ). In light of this, and the findings of this paper, we consider whether any private political agendas were potentially at work during NBN implementation, and if so, whether this might have had implications for the diminished role of equity considerations during the rollout.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been suggested that an exceedingly strong focus on getting elected or re‐elected is one source of negative political influence in effective infrastructure governance (Benitez et al. ). During policy implementation such an emphasis has been hypothesised to result in pork barrelling, where public funds are targeted to particular areas based on political considerations (Evans ; Leigh ); favouring short‐term spending over crucial long‐term investment; and a lack of systematic concern for infrastructure access for the poorest segments of society (Benitez et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During policy implementation such an emphasis has been hypothesised to result in pork barrelling, where public funds are targeted to particular areas based on political considerations (Evans ; Leigh ); favouring short‐term spending over crucial long‐term investment; and a lack of systematic concern for infrastructure access for the poorest segments of society (Benitez et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Digital Infrastructure as a Determinant of Health Equity: An Australian Case Study of the Implementation of the National Broadband Network

et al. 2018

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Inequities in access to fast and reliable internet connections, essential for digital access to services and information that are important for health, can exacerbate social inequalities in health. We evaluated the social equity of the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) in Australia based on the type of digital infrastructure delivered to areas of varying socioeconomic status. We found that areas of greater socioeconomic disadvantage were significantly less likely to receive the highest quality infrastructure, controlling for level of remoteness. These social inequities in provision of quality infrastructure will shape and possibly exacerbate inequities in health. In our discussion we consider how political decisions have obstructed equitable implementation of the policy. Lessons from the Australian case study may be valuable for other countries investing in public digital infrastructure who want to ensure equity of provision and can also inform Australian policy in the NBN's remaining rollout.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Digital Infrastructure as a Determinant of Health Equity: An Australian Case Study of the Implementation of the National Broadband Network

et al. 2018

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“…As highlighted by Benitez et al. (), four main power‐ and money‐seeking motivations may explain the inertia in the sector: (i) populism : a strong eagerness to be re‐elected, whatever it takes; (ii) patronage : efforts to maintain power by an elite, a form of ‘club leadership’; (iii) an excessively strong industry‐friendliness , for gaining future positions in the industry, for example; and (iv) corruption : the quest for money – personal benefits that the politician wants to keep secret .…”

Section: Conclusion and Directions For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite evidence, several countries do not seem ready to amend their investment strategy, mainly owing to the political economy of the sector in favour of the status quo. As highlighted by Benitez et al (2010), four main power-and money-seeking motivations may explain the inertia in the sector: (i) populism: a strong eagerness to 30. www.constructiontransparency.org . 4 pilot countries were from SSA: Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.…”

Section: Conclusion and Directions For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are There Myths on Road Impact and Transport in Sub‐Saharan Africa?

Beuran¹,

Gachassin

Raballand³

2015

Development Policy Review

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Large investments in road infrastructure continue to be high on the agenda of many African countries, only a few of which have actually amended their investment strategy. In many cases, there seems to be a preference for a status quo that can easily be explained by political-economy factors driving policies in the sector. After presenting data on the state of roads in subSaharan Africa (length, density, condition), this article demonstrates how most countries' transport strategies are based on certain misperceptions and recommends better prioritisation of investments, better procurement and contract management, better projects implementation and better monitoring to improve the developmental impact of recent road investments.

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