Investing in America’s and the World’s Infrastructure with Sadek Wahba (I Squared Capital) and Edward Glaeser (Harvard University)
Investing in America’s and the World’s Infrastructure
A conversation with Sadek Wahba, Chairman and Managing Partner of I Squared Capital and author of the forthcoming Build: Investing in America’s Infrastructure
and Edward Glaeser, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and author of Triumph of the City and Survival of the City
moderated by Liz Hoffman, Business and Finance Editor at Semafor and author of Crash Landing: How the World’s Biggest Companies Survived
Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024
Time: 6-7 pm, doors open at 5:30 pm, reception to follow
Location: Eisner & Lubin Auditorium, Kimmel Center for University Life (4th Floor), 60 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012
Overview:
We take the occasion of the launch of Sadek Wahba’s book Build: Investing in America’s Infrastructure to host a dialogue between Wahba and Edward Glaeser, the renowned urban economist and author of Triumph of the City and The Rise and Decline of Nations, moderated by Liz Huffman, Business and Finance editor at Semafor and author of Crash Landing: How the World’s Biggest Companies Survived an Economy on the Brink.
The 21st century is well underway, yet many nations, including the U.S., are grappling with outdated 20th-century infrastructure—crumbling roads, bridges, and power systems that threaten lives and stifle economic growth. Despite urgent needs and the potential to build greener, more resilient systems that create opportunities for all, investment has lagged, leaving countries vulnerable to climate risks and decaying structures. Why is it so hard to deliver major infrastructure projects? Is it economic mismanagement, political short-sightedness, or simply a lack of will? Our panel will tackle these questions and explore pathways to building 21st-century infrastructure that meets today’s challenges and seizes tomorrow’s opportunities.
Program:
5:30 pm - 6:00 pm Doors open
6:00 pm - 6:45 pm Panel discussion
6:45 pm - 7:00 pm Q&A
7:00 pm - 7:30 pm Reception
Speakers:
Sadek Wahba
Sadek Wahba, a former World Bank economist, is Chairman and Managing Partner of I Squared Capital, an independent multi-billion-dollar global infrastructure investment company.
Wahba focuses on understanding and measuring the effect of infrastructure investment on economic growth, including its impact on income inequality and poverty reduction in the U.S. and emerging economies.
Wahba holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, an M.Sc. in economics from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a B.A. in economics from the American University in Cairo. He is a published author on economic research, including articles in the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Review of Economics and Statistics as well as other publications and proceedings. One of his publications was selected by MIT as one of their 50 most influential papers in the last 50 years. He was part of the expert committee on the World Economic Forum's first report on global infrastructure investments.
He is a Fellow of St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, a trustee of the American University in Cairo and member of the Wilson Center’s Global Advisory Council. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Miami Cancer Institute. Wahba was named Global Infrastructure Personality of the Year twice, as well as Global Infrastructure Personality of the Decade, by Private Equity International (PEI).
Edward Glaeser
Edward Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics and the Chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University, where he has taught microeconomic theory, and occasionally urban and public economics, since 1992. He regularly teaches microeconomic theory, occasionally urban and public economics and has served as Director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and Director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston for a decade. He has published dozens of papers on cities, economic growth, and law and economics. In particular, his work has focused on the determinants of city growth and the role of cities as centers of idea transmission. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1992.
He is the author of Triumph of the City, The Rise and Decline of Nations, and with David Cutler Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in a Age of Isolation.
Liz Hoffman
Liz Hoffman is Semafor’s business and finance editor. She joined from The Wall Street Journal, where she spent nine years covering M&A, investment banking, and the world of big money. She’s the author of “Crash Landing: The Inside Story of How the World’s Biggest Companies Survived an Economy on the Brink,” a book about the pandemic’s economic toll.
©Goldman: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau
