Deck 18: Infrastructure Policies and Programs

Question 1

According to the World Bank if the government had spent ________ to maintain the roads in Africa over a decade it could have saved them ________ in read reconstruction.

A) $1 million; $5million
B) $1 million; $12 million
C) $1 billion; $12 billion
D) $12 billion; $45 billion

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Use-rates among the poor may _________,all else equal,as fees ______,service quality _________,physical access to the services by the poor becomes _____________:

A) Rise; rise; falls; easier
B) Fall; decrease; falls; easier
C) Drop-off; rise; falls; more difficult
D) Rise; rise; fall; more difficult

Answer 2

C

Question 3

All of the following affects a household's decision to put a particular infrastructure service to use and how much of the service to use except.

A) The price of the service
B) The degree of appreciation of the benefits of that service
C) The positive externalities that spill over to third parties
D) The nature of complimentary policies

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Infrastructure assets contribute to development not merely by existing,but by generating infrastructure services,such as:

A) Transportation of goods and people
B) Provision of clean water and
C) the flow of electricity
D) All of the above are examples of infrastructure services

Question 5

How do policy makers evaluate the investment in a new community level asset?

A) When there is significant demand
B) When the average income in the community is below the poverty line
C) When the social benefits outweigh the social costs
D) When the costs outweigh the benefits for a private firm

Question 6

All of the following have been discussed as potential rationales for intervention except:

A) Public goods problems
B) Liquidity constraints
C) externalities
D) Economies of scale problems

Question 7

What is the ultimate objective guiding infrastructure policy?

A) To improve the transportation of goods and people
B) To provide improved water services
C) To improve well being
D) All of the above

Question 8

_________,are those goods are services people use in the absence of new infrastructure.

A) Displaced services or goods
B) Inferior services or goods
C) Substitute services or goods
D) Obsolete services or goods

Question 9

What is the difference between a connection fee and a use fee?

A) Connection fees are paid by consumers while use fees are paid by firms
B) A use fee is a one-time fee will a connection fee is ongoing
C) There is no difference between a connection fee and a use fee
D) A use fee is ongoing and a connection fee is a one-time fee

Question 10

Which of the following is a private cost of current infrastructure service?

A) An increase in food prices
B) More time may be required to use the new infrastructure service
C) An increase in wage costs
D) Maintenance

Question 11

Which of the following is not likely to diminish efficiency?

A) Lack of adequate expertise and information
B) Lack of adequate operation and maintenance budgets
C) When government bureaucrats are not adequately held accountable
D) When households are required to pay a user fee for the infrastructure service

Question 12

Subsidies are:

A) Equal to expenditures less any revenue gathered by charging fees or requiring contributions
B) Equal to the total costs of investment operation and maintenance
C) Equal to the total costs of investment operation and maintenance plus fees charged for use
D) The cost of advertising the new services offered

Question 13

In which of the following categories is the disparity between poor and developed countries the greatest?

A) Access to improved water source
B) Access to telecommunications infrastructure
C) Access to improved sanitation facilities
D) Electricity consumption per capita

Question 14

Project selection decisions include decisions to:

A) Define the more detailed technical specifications
B) Determine the general type quality and location of the infrastructure assets to be constructed
C) Oversee procurement of labor and materials required for operation
D) Determine the fees charged for use of services

Question 15

When infrastructure services are provided efficiently,then ______________ services are provided at a given cost or _____________ services are provided at ________________.

A) The most; the same amount of; the lowest possible cost
B) The most; the least amount of; the lowest possible cost
C) A given amount; the same amount; the government's approved costs
D) A large variety of; a few; the lowest possible cost

Question 16

Project design decisions include decisions to:

A) Define the more detailed technical specifications
B) Determine the general type quality and location of the infrastructure assets to be constructed
C) Oversee procurement of labor and materials required for operation
D) Determine the fees charged for use of services

Question 17

All of the following are examples of positive spill-over effects from an investment in infrastructure except:

A) Lower food prices
B) Lower variability in food availability
C) Higher wages
D) Reduce profits to firms unable to use the new infrastructure program

Question 18

All of the following are reasons why the poor are less likely to use new infrastructure than the non-poor except:

A) Because some poor families will place a higher weight on food staples over using new infrastructure
B) When connection and user fees are insignificant
C) Because they tend to have smaller farms and fewer complimentary assets
D) Poor families tend to live in more remote locations and are likely to lack physical access to some new infrastructure services

Question 19

All of the following are examples of negative externalities from an investment in infrastructure except:

A) Dam projects sometimes displace people
B) Increased efficiency of other programs from improved sanitation services
C) Road improvements can reduce safety for pedestrians
D) One community's domestic water and sanitation infrastructure may pollute the drinking water of downstream communities

Question 20

User fees may reduce the net benefits that users derive from new infrastructure in two ways ________ and _____________.

A) By reducing purchasing power; by motivating them to cut back on use
B) By increasing the quality of the service; by decreasing the length of time the service will be available
C) By decreasing the quality of service; by increasing the quantity of services
D) By removing positive externalities; by eliminating the free rider problem

Question 21

Even when households choose to use new infrastructure services,they may fail to derive all the benefits policymakers might hope for,because they do not put the services to intended uses.Give three examples of users who employ a new infrastructure service but fail to enjoy all of its intended benefits.

Question 22

Why would giving ownership of an infrastructure investment community make sense?

A) It guarantees a source of funding for maintenance
B) The local community will have access to more technical information
C) It gives the community the incentive to maintain the infrastructure
D) It does not make sense to turn over control of maintenance and operations to local communities

Question 23

Describe how switching from using substitute services to new infrastructure may improve well-being? (Include at least three new infrastructure services)

Question 24

What is administrative targeting?

A) Involves the use of means tests or categorical restrictions
B) Involves offering different levels of quality
C) Involves different prices for different quantities
D) By far the most common approach for getting subsidies to the poor

Question 25

What is volume targeting?

A) By far the least common approach for getting subsidies to the poor
B) May take the form of decreasing block tariffs
C) Average fees rise with the volume of services a household uses
D) An example would be when households pay a premium for the first quantities used then a lower price as more is consumed

Question 26

Which of the following is a benefit associated with raising fees from a subsidized level to a level that just covers the cost of service provision?

A) Reduction of infrastructure sector's net drain on the government budget
B) Reduction in positive spillovers
C) Increases the use of services by poorer households where the social cost outweighs the social benefit
D) May reduce the use to a point where the marginal social benefit of one more unit is greater than the marginal social cost of one more unit.

Question 27

Which of the following is a problem associated with raising fees from a subsidized level to a level that just covers the cost of service provision?

A) Reduction of infrastructure sector's net drain on the government budget
B) The additional revenue can be used to expand the quantity or quality of the service
C) Reduces the use of services by poorer households where the social cost outweighs the social benefit
D) May reduce the use to a point where the marginal social benefit of one more unit is greater than the marginal social cost of one more unit.