This article reviews results from the literature on the political-economy determinants of infrastructure investments. I discuss three criteria which may be applied to describe efficiency, redistribution and equity concerns of governments when using infrastructure investments as a means of regional policy. Using the planned investment figures of highway construction in the German federal states, I demonstrate that these criteria often lead to conflicting priorities regarding infrastructure investment allocation across regions. Finally, I summarize the findings of previous studies on the political factors that influence infrastructure investment decisions.