Abstract
The neglect of domestic infrastructure and spatial needs is perhaps the greatest failing of the current emphasis on development through globalization. By using a simple yet practical example involving the transportation infrastructure, this paper shows that the social benefits of infrastructure improvements achieved through cooperation may yield a rate of return greater than the social rates of return used in donor calculations. Nonetheless, the political economy of implementing such obvious improvements is complex, and the paper discusses some of the difficulties one may anticipate in trying to realize such improvements based on public-private cooperation.