World Development Report 1994

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The World Development Report 1994 examines the connection between infrastructure and development, focusing on how developing countries can enhance both the provision and quality of infrastructure services. In recent decades, significant investments have led to improved access to essential services like safe water, sanitation, electricity, telecommunications, and transport. However, further investment is necessary, particularly to reach rural populations and the impoverished. The report emphasizes that merely increasing investment is insufficient; enhancing service quality is equally crucial for modernizing production, fostering international competitiveness, and managing urbanization. It identifies inadequate institutional incentives as a primary factor behind poor past performance in infrastructure. To improve service delivery, the report advocates for changing incentives through commercial management, competition, and user involvement. Several trends are fostering better infrastructure performance: technological innovation and regulatory changes are diversifying service supply; a reevaluation of government roles is shifting service provision from public to private sectors, with public-private partnerships demonstrating new efficiency avenues; and growing concerns about social and environmental sustainability are increasing public interest in infrastructure design and performance. Additionally, the report includes World Devel