Author Description

Infrastructure is the foundation of modern economies. A robust, efficient, and well-maintained infrastructure system is critical to support the nation's economy, improve quality of life, and strengthen global competitiveness. The serious infrastructure deficit in the U.S. is well-known. State and local governments are struggling to finance the needed expansion, upgrades, and repairs. Meeting the infrastructure financing challenge has emerged as one of the most urgent issues facing the country. Despite the growing number of innovations in state and local infrastructure financing, current information on innovative infrastructure financing is scattered and time-consuming to find. Until now, there was no detailed, comprehensive assessment of current knowledge and practice in innovative infrastructure financing. This book fills that gap and offers policy suggestions for state and local government managers who are considering the adoption and implementation of innovative infrastructure financing. It provides detailed case studies and rich examples that describe innovative approaches to fund state and local infrastructure development. These experiences and lessons in applying these innovations will be particularly useful for state and local government practitioners, professors, applied policy analysts, and students in public administration, policy, and public finance. Can Chen is an Associate Professor in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. His main research interest is state and local infrastructure finance and policy. He serves as the chair for the American Society of Public Administration (ASPA) Section on Transportation Policy and Administration (STPA) for 2021-2023. He is a certified research associate at Mineta Transportation Institute. His Bachelor's degree is from Harbin Engineering University, MPA from Xiamen University, and Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He has published widely in journals on Public Budgeting an