ASi" kUCTURE FlOR DEVELOPMENT

Th quantityq , coverage, and quality of existing in- demand for infstructure will be growing rapidly.
frastructre facilities and their effectiveness in The socialist economies in transition, by contrast,
meeting present and future user demands define enpoy high coverage and relatively good technical
what is needed. What. is possible is deterumned by a performance. The main challenge in these countries
country's institutional capacity for commercial and is to reorient supply to meet the changing pattern of
competitive servces in infrastructure-its manage- demand brought about by economic restructuring.
rial and tedhnical capabilifies in the puolic and the Middle-income reforming economies have relaprivate
sectors, the ability of government to ceate tively high infrastructure coverage but weaker peran
enabliHng environment for private activity, and formance, especially in maintenance Improving efthe
private sector's interest and reponsa The im- ficiency is their highest priority, in order to provide
plications for reform are illustrated here for four the service- necessary to restart. growthl Highcountry
types low-income countries, countries m growth economies have comparatively good covertransiLion
from central planning, middle-income age and performance. For them the challenge is to
countries undergoing economic reform (many meet rapidly expanding needs for infrastrucure of
emerging from periods of low growth), and highgrowth
countries.
all types to sustain their 7 percent average annual
gowth in output and to service the needs of urban
populations growing by 4 percent a year-
WnPx is NEEDED? The current suipply of services
and the projecd growth, as well as changes, in de- WHAT FossiBLE? s The bounds of the possible are
mand deterine pnorities in ifrastructure. Indica- drawn by eaich country's capaaty to implement retors
of supply (ifrastructure coverage and per- forms, as defined by three characteristics. Frst is the
formance) and demand (economic growth and country's managerial and technical capacity. Prodemographic
shifts) vary considerably across the viding infrastructure is a techny complex activfour
country types (Table 613-and so do their in- ity requiring engineers and other professionals, as
frastructure needs Low-income economies tend to well as managers who understand the need to meet
have both low coverage and poor performance; consumer demands- Second is the enabling ennearly
every indicator of performance is on average vironment for beneficial private sector involvethree
times worse than in OECD countries. And ment-both attracting investment and channeling
with an urban population growth rate of 6 percent, it productively. The commitment and integrity of
Table 62 Country infrastructure coverage and perfomance
Law- ~~~~~Middk-inrom High-
-ras Tr-nimcion rffwing gm- OECD
Indicator econornis earnonsls erornmies auonasfie rrnasies
Camgeof s-nuruw fh
Main lines per thousand persons 3 95 73 122 475
Households with access to
safe water (percent) 47 95 76 86 99
Households with electricty (Cperc 21 85 62 61 98
Pafomtncrof infistnitunr
Diesel locomotives unavailable (percent 55 27 36 26. 16
Unacmunted-for water (percnt) 35 28 37 39 13
vPaed roadsnotin good condition
(percent) 59 50 63 46 15
Power system losses (percent) 22 14 17 13 7
- Basic indictms
GNP per capita, 1991 (US. dollars) 293 2,042 1,941 3,145 20,535
GNP per capita average annual growth
rate, 1980-91 (percent) -0.2 1 -0.6 5 2
Population rage annual gro7wth tL,
.1980-91 (paent)
: Urban - 6 1 3 4 1
Total 3 0.3 2 2 0.5
:SoAppendix tableA.1;WDItables,25,31.32-
-..