Call for Papers | Infra4dev Conference: The Future of Infrastructure Financing
Istanbul, Türkiye, May 9-10, 2024

The Infrastructure for Development Conference series (#Infra4Dev) is an initiative of the World Bank’s Infrastructure Vice-Presidency, aiming to promote dialogue and exchange between leading edge economic researchers and the wider community of policymakers and practitioners on leveraging infrastructure for development. The Infrastructure Vice-Presidency focus its work on digital infrastructure, transport networks and energy systems, as well as financing and guarantees.

The World Bank and Koç University are partnering for the fourth annual #Infra4Dev Conference, to be held on the 9th and 10th May 2024 in Istanbul, Türkiye.

In a context of pressing development challenges, including climate change, multiple conflicts, and a disappointing progress towards the sustainable development goals, policy makers around the world are grappling with the need for more resources to steer the global economy on to a more sustainable long-term development path. This is felt very acutely in infrastructure sectors, including digital infrastructure, transport networks and energy systems. Mobilizing resources to deliver infrastructure investments involves solving two related issues. First, how they are financed, with a range of instruments covering budgetary expenditures, bond markets, bank loans, equity issuance, guarantees, etc., and involving both public and private players. Second, who eventually repays the cost of delivering the services, i.e., the funding, which involves combining users’ fees and taxpayers’ money.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Accordingly, we are circulating this call for papers to seek submissions from scholars around the world focusing on any aspects related to the funding and financing of infrastructure, including among others:

* The impact of financing arrangements on access, quality, and affordability.
* The private and social rate of return of infrastructure investments.
* Private participation in infrastructure, especially the financing aspects.
* The role of guarantees in facilitating investment in infrastructure.
* The role of local and foreign currency financing.
* Innovative funding mechanisms allowing for the appropriation of the social value created by infrastructure projects.
* Financing mechanisms to support the transition to green infrastructure.
* Financing innovation in the delivery of infrastructure services.
* The Impact of alternative regulatory arrangements on investment in infrastructure networks.

The program will include a mix of contributed sessions with research papers selected from the submissions, as well invited sessions and policy panels where academic findings and policy challenges and lessons will be confronted.

Keynote speakers will include Ufuk Akcigit (University of Chicago) and Peter Blair Henry (Stanford University, Hoover Institution, and Freeman Spogli Institute).

CONTACT AND SUBMISSION OF PAPERS

Complete papers should be submitted through this link: https://worldbankabcde.wufoo.com/forms/m10lirdm0vlobs3/

The deadline for the submission of papers is 26th January 2024.

Please direct any queries regarding this call to infra4dev@worldbank.org.

Please feel free to forward this call to researchers in your networks.