Infrastructure Finance in Europe

Although funding infrastructure has always been a challenging issue in any country and at any time, the topic is still largely unexplored. A European history of infrastructure financing over the long term does not yet exist, and the purpose of this book is to partially fill that gap. It explores the diverse historical paths pursued in order to solve the problem of infrastructure finance in various European countries, drawing upon the findings of an international and interdisciplinary research project. Economic historians, economists, and engineers grouped together to investigate case studies showing paradigmatic examples and to unravel their specificities across the Old Continent by combining evidence from the literature and untapped sources. The volume is structured into four sections; after an introductory chapter by the editors, the first section offers 'horizontal' contributions that encompass the entire history of European infrastructure finance. The other three sections deal with one single sector each, namely water, transport, and telecommunications. The recipients of this investigation are not only economic historians but also all those who deal with infrastructure planning