Taking its toll: The private financing of roads in Spain

Abstract

The article analyses the cost of using private finance to build, finance and maintain toll roads in Spain. Spain is the primary exponent of private finance for roads in Europe, where the case rested on the lack of public finance, in contrast to the UK that has stressed value for money. The evidence shows that more than half of the toll charge represents the cost of finance; the cost of private finance is nearly double the cost of public finance; and financing is underpinned by various forms of public support creating risks for the taxpayers.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland, the Spanish National Research & Development Plan and the University of Manchester's Research Centre for Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC). They also thank Peter Macdonald for research assistance.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Basilio Acerete

Basilio Acerete is a lecturer at the University of Zaragoza.

Jean Shaoul

Jean Shaoul is Professor of Public Accountability at Manchester Business School

Anne Stafford

Anne Stafford is a lecturer in accounting at Manchester Business School