Several people recently called to my attention an op-ed in the New York Times (May 8, 2023) headlined, “Why Are We Allowing the Private Sector to Take Over Our Public Works?” The villain of the piece was the several hundred infrastructure investment funds that have grown dramatically over the past decade. They are a source of equity for both greenfield and brownfield P3s, and they have become a means by which public pension systems in Europe, Australia, and North America have diversified their investment portfolios, aiming to raise below-target returns on investment.
