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With infrastructure spending back on the political agenda in the US and Europe, we ask whether we really can build our way to prosperity. Roads, railways and airports might be able to deliver goods and people, but can the costs really be justified? We begin by looking at the case of Ciudad Real International Airport in Spain, which struggled with passenger numbers following the financial crisis in 2008. Spain has invested heavily in infrastructure projects over the last two decades – what kinds of gains have been seen? We hear the views of Esperanza Aguirre, a politician from the ruling People’s Party and a former government minister. US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to make infrastructure spending a priority, but will it really be a magic bullet for the economy? A question for Adie Tomer, infrastructure fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington. Clement Charlieu from the World Trade Centre in Lyon, France, explains why the city’s high speed rail links are vital for his business. And Phil Smith, Chairman of Cisco in the UK and Ireland, tells the Â鶹ԼÅÄ’s Robert Champion about the role of digital infrastructure in generating future prosperity.

(Photo: A partially complete walkway which was due to link Ciudad Real International Airport with an adjacent train station. Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)