American Infrastructure Series: Part III

American Infrastructure Series:

Part III

Costs of the Infrastructure Deficit  Under-investing in infrastructure carries costs for households, businesses, and the government by increasing maintenance, wasting time, and allocating resources inefficiently. These costs reduce efficiency and impede economic growth. Road congestion has worsened as the expansion of the highway system has failed to keep pace with usage.  As a result, the amount of time wasted has increased dramatically over the past few decades rising from 14 hours per driver in 1982 to 34 hours in 2009.  The cost of these delays has increased from $24 billion in 1982 to $115 billion in 2009 dollars.  Bottlenecks and traffic delays in our ground and air transportation systems are paralleled by inefficiencies across many modes of infrastructure.  According to various estimates from government institutions and non-profits organizations, the efficiency lost because of poor infrastructure is probably in excess of $195 billion per year.   Mode of Infrastructure Efficiency Loss Per Year (USD bn) Aviation $33  Bridges $8  Drinking Water $3  Energy $25  Hazardous Waste $1  Levees $10  Roads/Transit $115  Total $195 Read more...		American Infrastructure Series    Part I - The Infrastructure Deficit  by Samuel Sherraden Part II - Failing to Fill the Holes in State Budgets: Why the Recovery Act Spending on Infrastructure Fell Short   by Samuel Sherraden   Part III- Costs of the Infrastructure Deficit   by Shayne Henry, Samuel Sherraden  Recent Publications The Pillars of Economic Transformation   by James K. Galbraith The Centrality of Manufacturing to America's Future Prosperity  by Bruce Stokes What is Right and Wrong With the President's Innovation Agenda  by Robert Atkinson America 2021: Jobs & the Economy  by Sherle R. Schwenninger  Links Economic Growth Program New America Foundation Subscribe to Publications Follow us on Twitter @EconNAF.