Leah Brooks: Why does US infrastructure cost so much?

Political Economy with James Pethokoukis

Despite wide agreement that America’s infrastructure quality is relatively low, per-unit infrastructure costs are higher in the US today compared to the rest of the world and to America 50-60 years. Why is this? Are regulations and rent-seeking to blame? Could it reflect some kind of improvement in quality? Today’s guest, Leah Brooks, provides an in-depth exploration of this topic for today’s episode.

Leah is an associate professor in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University, as well as the Director of the Center for Washington Area Studies. She is the co-author, along with Zachary Liscow, of the 2019 paper, “Infrastructure Costs.”

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