Obama's Bank

The Obama administration aims to lay a sound foundation for growth by investing in high-speed rail, clean energy, information technology, drinking water, and other vital infrastructures. The idea is to partner with the private sector to produce these public goods. An Obama government bank will direct these investments, making project decisions based on the merits of each project, not on politics. This approach has been a cornerstone of US foreign policy for several decades. In fact, our government-led reinvestment in America is modeled explicitly on international public banks and partnerships. However, although this foreign commercial policy is well-established with many successes, it has also been deservedly controversial and divisive. This book describes the international experience, drawing lessons on how the Obama Bank can forge partnerships to promote a durable twenty-first-century New Deal.

“"The notion of an infrastructure bank for the United States is not new. However, Michael Likosky has done what no one else has: looked at all of the key questions that, to this date, have been unanswered. In Obama's Bank he issues a challenge to those who have introduced national infrastructure bank proposals: think very practically about what needs an infrastructure bank can efficiently address, focus on getting the details right, and move beyond talking points to action." - David Chavern, Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce”

"Drawing on his deep understanding and wide-ranging experiences with public-private partnerships, Michael Likosky's book provides essential insight on how to structure a national infrastructure bank effectively, in a way that maintains the public interest, keeps America competitive in the 21st century global economy, and provides the critical investments needed to rebuild our nation."- U.S. Representative Rosa L. DeLauro (Connecticut)
"Michael Likosky has pulled together every major issue that must be addressed during the creation of the new National Infrastructure Bank. His explanation of each of the many demands being made of this great concept is followed by a clear and concise description of the elements of the organization that can best respond. After reading Obama's Bank, one not only understands the grand scale of what must be done, but also knows exactly how to get there."- Stanton C. Hazelroth, Executive Director, California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank
"The notion of an infrastructure bank for the United States is not new. However, Michael Likosky has done what no one else has: looked at all of the key questions that, to this date, have been unanswered. In Obama’s Bank he issues a challenge to those who have introduced national infrastructure bank proposals: think very practically about what needs an infrastructure bank can efficiently address, focus on getting the details right, and move beyond talking points to action."- David Chavern, Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Michael Likosky is a Fellow at NYU's Institute for Public Knowledge and the Center for State Innovation. He is an expert to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, a member the OECD's Working Group on Infrastructure and Extractives in Africa, and also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers Task Force on Sustainable Development. Likosky has a doctorate from the Law Faculty of Oxford University and has been a tenured law professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He has also been Global Crystal Eastman Research Fellow at NYU and Markle Foundation Fellow at Oxford University and held visiting posts at University of Wisconsin Law School, Fordham Law School, and University of Bonn. Likosky has published four books: Law, Infrastructure, and Human Rights; The Silicon Empire; Privatizing Development; and Transnational Legal Processes. He has twice contributed to the Oxford Amnesty Lectures and has advised the United Nations, the Ford Foundation, the New Reflection on Governance, NGOs, and major TV broadcasters.

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