Government as the decision maker in infrastructure projects: What diffusion models tell us

This study examines the diffusion models for insights into how governments make decisions on which type of infrastructure projects to undertake. The existing technology diffusion literature was reviewed and based on this a conceptual model was formulated. The study will focus on High Speed Rail (HSR) infrastructure technology. Four countries with the most kilometers of HSR, i.e. China, Japan, Spain, and France, are compared to countries with limited or no HSR service, i.e. currently the United States, India, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. It was concluded that the current models for technology diffusion do not offer a complete model for government decision making. No particular factor was found that explains diffusion of HSR.