The Politics of Infrastructure

A number of recent studies attempt to measure the productivity of public capital. Some estimates indicate that government investments are a potential well-spring for economic progress, while others indicate that public infrastructure has a negligible effect on private sector output. This article investigates political institutions and processes underlying the decisions for public infrastructure spending. We apply the framework of strategic models of fiscal policy and develop an empirical model to analyze the substantial differences in public capital across American states. Institutions such as term limits, citizen initiative, and budgeting procedures were significant determinants of state public capital stocks and the flow of new public investments during the 1980s. The results further suggest that political conditions such as legislative stability and voter volatility are systematically related to infrastructure differences across states.