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On Campus
Session Date-Application DeadlineProgram Fee$14,500Faculty ChairProgram Director
We are still accepting applications for this session. Please contact the program director for additional information.
Program Fee: The program fee includes tuition, housing, curricular materials and most meals.
Executive Certificate: This program is a core program in the Economic Development and Public Policy concentrations. This program can also be used as a third program for any concentration in the Executive Certificate series.
Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): This program aligns with one or more Executive Core Qualifications.
Program Overview
Governments around the world aspire to provide their citizens with essential and quality infrastructure services amidst the mounting pressure of soaring demand, shrinking budgets, and climate change. To achieve these goals, they must determine the most effective roles for public and private sectors in infrastructure provision. What is the key to successfully combining the relative strengths of both the public and private sectors while avoiding the mistakes of the past? And what unique challenges does the partnership approach produce?
Infrastructure in a Market Economy: Public-Private Partnerships in a Climate-Constrained World provides the answers. In this two-week, intensive program, in the company of a diverse range of professionals from both advanced and emerging countries – including public officials, private developers, financiers, consultants, and legal advisors – participants learn why some partnerships succeed while others fail. Taught on-campus at the Harvard Kennedy School, this program equips participants with essential skills for financing and regulating infrastructure projects, building political support, and addressing climate constraints, so that they can develop partnership models that are best suited to different political and economic circumstances.
From toll road projects in Colombia and Pennsylvania to water and electricity systems in New Delhi, from medical services in Lesotho to mitigation efforts in Argentina, from sustainable sewage treatment in Belgrade to geothermal energy in Indonesia, from land value capture in Hong Kong to concession contracts in Mali, decision-makers worldwide are turning to public-private partnerships to address physical infrastructure, communications, social services, and climate change. Successful partnerships not only attract private investment, but also harness private innovation for real and sustainable efficiency gains for the delivery of quality infrastructure services.
PROGRAM CURRICULUM
Over the course of the program, you will analyze and discuss over thirty real-world cases from both emerging and established markets that illustrate how the strengths of the public and private sectors can be aligned into the right PPP model for developing infrastructure that meets economic, social and climate goals. This comprehensive and comparative approach will give you a deep understanding of the dynamics that determine the success or failure of the complex relationship between private infrastructure providers and government. You will also further develop the skills and judgment needed to formulate and implement well-structured plans that will stand the test of time.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Infrastructure in a Market Economy helps leaders like you address critical questions about public-private partnerships (PPPs), including:
- Why have some types of partnerships succeeded where others have failed?
- How can governments develop and implement reforms to make these partnerships politically and economically sustainable over time?
- What is the role of private finance in infrastructure development? How can limited public resources and capacity be leveraged to mobilize long term finance from institutional investors?
- When is regulation of tariffs necessary and when can governments achieve effective outcomes using market forces? What mix of contractual and discretionary regulatory mechanisms should be used?
- What factors impede countries from effectively implementing new infrastructure to address the challenges posed by climate change?
- How can infrastructure contracts deal with shifting priorities, technological change, renegotiation, disputes, and early termination?
- How will the transformation of infrastructure in electricity, water, sanitation, and transportation unfold in the next two decades?
Application Information
Infrastructure in a Market Economy is designed for a wide array of professionals involved in the infrastructure sector, including those from public and private entities in both developed and emerging markets. Participants come from both industrialized and newly industrialized nations, with more than two dozen countries typically represented in the classroom.
Recommended applicants include:
- Senior elected and appointed government officials involved in making decisions regarding infrastructure development, investment, management, and regulation
- Executives from private sector firms that build, operate, or finance infrastructure projects
- Lawyers, financial advisors, and management consultants working on infrastructure and PPP projects
- Officials from multilateral institutions and aid agencies
Immerse yourself with a cohort of fellow leaders on Harvard’s historic campus. View a sample program schedule from a previous session. Note that module titles, speakers, and sequence may change.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING
“This is the definitive program for those involved in Infrastructure and Capital Projects who aim to expand knowledge about P3s and other procurement methods. The faculty and students create the perfect environment for knowledge exchange.".
Joao Paulo Alencar de Morais, Infrastructure Ontario
Hear From the Faculty Chair
Faculty Chair Akash Deep discusses the Infrastructure in a Market Economy executive program.
Faculty & Research
Akash Deep
John Donahue
Mark Fagan
Henry Lee
Hear from Infrastructure in a Market Economy Alumni
Learn more about Infrastructure in a Market Economy from past participants of the program.