This study addresses the question with a rigorous econometric approach and distills global results from a multitude of evidence. The data set compiled is unique in its coverage, size, and composition, making it possible to address for the first time methodological problems that have plagued...

Permitting, licensing, and other authorization procedures are an integral part of investing in renewable energy. For private companies, the quality of these procedures can drastically affect transaction costs and project risk. Optimal regimes are tailored to country specifics and depend on the...

China and Africa have a long history of political and economic ties, which have greatly intensified in recent years. Both bilateral trade and Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa grew about fourfold between 2001 and 2005, accompanied by a major influx of Chinese enterprises and...

Infrastructure contributed 1.8 percentage points to Cote d'Ivoire's annual per capita GDP growth over the mid-2000s before conflict began to erase the country's infrastructure and its growth contributions. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to the level of the region's middle-income...

Despite external shocks, Mali's economy grew by 5.3 percent per year between 2003 and 2006, driven primarily by the telecommunications sector. But Mali's landlocked condition, together with the uneven distribution of population and economic activities between the arid north and the much richer...

Infrastructure development in Sierra Leone contributed about half a percentage point to the economy's per capita growth rate in 2003-07. But if Sierra Leone could upgrade its infrastructure to the level of the best performer in Africa, per capita growth rates could be boosted by more than three...

Despite general economic decline and power-supply deficiencies, infrastructure made a modest net contribution of just less than half a percentage point to Zimbabwe's improved per capita growth performance in recent years. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's...

Infrastructure contributed half a percentage point to the Republic of Congo's annual per capita GDP growth from 2001 to 2006. If the country's infrastructure were improved to the level seen in Mauritius, the regional leader, it could contribute more than 3 percentage points to annual per capita...

Infrastructure made a net contribution of just over two percentage points to Botswana's improved per capita growth performance in recent years. Raising the country s infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by about 1.2 percentage points....

In 2006, which China named the "Year of Africa," it quadrupled its investment commitments to infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa, to more than $7 billion. In 2007 China committed another $4.5 billion. Such funds could make a significant contribution toward meeting Africa's infrastructure...