I’ve just published part 2 of my Economics Explained podcast discussion on the economics of infrastructure with Craig Lawrence, Managing Director of Brisbane-based Lytton Advisory:

Economics of Infrastructure – Part 2

Craig Lawrence has three decades of experience as a professional economist and has advised on a wide range of infrastructure projects in Australia, the Pacific, and the Middle East. Part 2 of our conversation covers, among other things:

• public private partnerships or PPPs, their pros and their cons;
• challenges in infrastructure provision in emerging economies;
• the merits of quasi-independent infrastructure advisory bodies such as Infrastructure Australia and Building Queensland; and
• the geopolitics of infrastructure (e.g. Chinese takeover of a Sri Lankan port, Australia blocking Huawei’s involvement in 5G infrastructure, and the 99-year leasing out of Darwin port to a Chinese company).

My new Economics Explained podcast is also available via iTunes/Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

On PPPs, you might be interested in an article written by Adept Economics Research Assistant Ben Scott and me:

Demystifying Brisbane’s Cross-River Rail: a PPP, an alliance, and a traditional procurement