Economic Returns to Rural Infrastructure Investments

Farm Foundation has released six papers commissioned to examine specific issues critical to rural infrastructure development. Understanding the economic returns on investing in rural infrastructure improvements is a critical element in the decision-making process for public and private investors. “As the nation addresses rural infrastructure needs, it is vital that public and private decision makers have the best information possible on the economic and social returns of their investments,” says Farm Foundation President Constance Cullman. “These papers begin to fill that need by examining some of the diverse issues in measuring returns of rural infrastructure investments.” Economically Efficient Composition of Rural Infrastructure Investment:  Mark Burton, Ph.D., of the University of Tennessee and Wesley W. Wilson, Ph.D., of the University of Oregon, provide an economic explanation for why public-sector infrastructure investments are economically-efficient public policy. The authors also describe why many necessary investments must be sited in and/or available to rural communities.