Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
Why Public Works Cost So Much More Than Private
In this episode of The Fiscal Policy Podcast, Lucas and Luna dig into why governments routinely pay two to three times more for infrastructure than private developers do. They start with a concrete case: a regional transit authority's light-rail extension that came in at $700 million per mile, while a privately built urban tram in the same state cost about $250 million a mile. They break down three structural reasons behind the gap: procurement rules that favor the lowest bidder over the best value, labor and wage standards that push up costs, and the public-sector's risk aversion…
The skinny
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