Assessing the Welfare and Distributional Impacts of Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure Interventions

This Reference Paper supports World Bank Group (WBG) teams in assessing the welfare and distributional impacts of private sector participation in infrastructure interventions. It underpins the accompanying Technical Guidance Note and applies to various financing models—fully public, private, blended, or privately managed public funding. 

Recognizing that infrastructure affects different groups unequally, the paper emphasizes evaluating impacts by income, gender, vulnerability, and access. It aligns with the WBG’s Maximizing Finance for Development (MFD) approach, which seeks to prioritize sustainable private solutions, reserving public funds for areas with limited private interest. This guidance also reinforces the importance of analyzing not only average impacts but also how benefits and costs are distributed. It calls for careful consideration of financing structures, including capital and long-term costs, as these influence both project sustainability and the government’s capacity to fund essential services. 

Overall, the paper stresses incorporating equity, affordability, and fiscal responsibility in infrastructure impact analysis to advance poverty reduction and the SDGs.