Effects of Improving Infrastructure Quality on Business Costs: Evidence from Firm-Level Data

24 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Atsushi Iimi

Atsushi Iimi

International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Bank

Date Written: March 1, 2008

Abstract

Economic development is affected by infrastructure services in both volume and quality terms. However, the quality of infrastructure is relatively difficult to measure and assess. The current paper, using firm-level data collected by a business environment assessment survey in 26 countries in Europe and Central Asia, estimates the marginal impacts on firm costs of infrastructure quality. The results suggest that the reliability or continuity of services is important for business performance. Firm costs significantly increase when electricity outages occur more frequently and the average outage duration becomes longer. Similarly, increased hours of water supply suspensions also reduce firms' competitiveness. In these countries, it is found that the total benefit for the economy from eliminating the existing electricity outages ranges from 0.5 to 6 percent of gross domestic product. If all water suspensions are removed, the economy could receive a gain of about 0.5 to 2 percent of gross domestic product. By contrast, the quality of telecommunications services seems to have no significant impact.

Keywords: Transport Economics Policy & Planning, Town Water Supply and Sanitation, Private Participation in Infrastructure, Infrastructure Economics, Urban Slums Upgrading

Suggested Citation

Iimi, Atsushi, Effects of Improving Infrastructure Quality on Business Costs: Evidence from Firm-Level Data (March 1, 2008). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4581, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1149084

Atsushi Iimi (Contact Author)

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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