Truth and Lies about Megaprojects

Inaugural Speech for Professorship and Chair at Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management: Delft University of Technology, 27 pp.

27 Pages Posted: 13 Jun 2013 Last revised: 22 Oct 2013

See all articles by Bent Flyvbjerg

Bent Flyvbjerg

University of Oxford - Said Business School; IT University of Copenhagen; St Anne's College, University of Oxford

Date Written: September 1, 2007

Abstract

Den svenska versionen av den här artikeln hittar du på: http://www.ssrn.com/abstract=2278279

In what follows I will: (1) Argue that a major problem in megaproject policy and planning is the high level of misinformation about costs and benefits that decision makers face in deciding whether to build, and the high risks such misinformation generates; (2) Explore the causes of misinformation and risk, mainly in the guise of optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation; (3) Present measures aimed at better policy and planning, including changed governance structures and better planning methods; and (4) Identify the most promising areas for further research, especially as they pertain to the Dutch situation and the Chair in Infrastructure Policy and Planning at Delft University of Technology.

Article listed on SSRN's Top Ten Download List for Infrastructure.

Suggested Citation

Flyvbjerg, Bent, Truth and Lies about Megaprojects (September 1, 2007). Inaugural Speech for Professorship and Chair at Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management: Delft University of Technology, 27 pp., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2278262

Bent Flyvbjerg (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Said Business School ( email )

Oxford
Great Britain

IT University of Copenhagen ( email )

Copenhagen
Denmark

St Anne's College, University of Oxford ( email )

Oxford
United Kingdom

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