Schulich School of Business Professor James McKellar has published a new book, titled Infrastructure as Business: The Role of Private Investment Capital (Routledge, 2023), which delves into the nuances of private investment capital’s role in real estate, urbanization and infrastructure.
The book reflects the professor’s decades-long expertise and draws upon Schulich’s innovative Sustainable Infrastructure Fellowship Program, where McKellar has been a pivotal figure.
“This book offers insight into an industry not well understood but crucial to the well-being of society and our planet,” said McKellar, whose previous roles at Schulich include director of the Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure program and director of the Brookfield Centre. “Infrastructure affects our ability to address climate change and sustainability mandates. It is an industry sector in which Canada is a recognized global leader through its world-renowned institutional investors.”
Infrastructure as Business brings new emphasis and clarity to the importance of private investment capital in large-scale infrastructure projects, introducing investors, policymakers and other stakeholders to a key element that is surprisingly absent from the discourse on public-private partnerships. Despite the importance of modernizing infrastructure across the globe, governments often face challenges in securing the necessary capital to meet future need, as well as developing policy to meet these goals. Explaining the structure of the private investment universe and flow of private capital in such projects, this book aims to bridge this “infrastructure gap” by elucidating shared terminology, conceptual frameworks and an alignment of goals and objectives between public and private sectors – essential to meet increasing environmental, social and governmental requirements for infrastructure in coming years.
For more information or to secure a copy of McKellar’s new book, visit Infrastructure as Business: The Role of Private Investment Capital (routledge.com).