Infrastructure bias

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In economics and social policy, infrastructure bias refers to the fact that the location and availability of pre-existing infrastructure such as roads and telecommunications facilities influences social and economic development.

In science, infrastructure bias refers to the influence of existing social or scientific infrastructure on scientific observations. For example, when sampling pollutants, most samples may be taken in towns or near roads, as they are the easiest places to get to. Other examples are in astronomy and particle physics, where the availability of particular kinds of telescopes or particle accelerators acts as a constraint on the types of experiments that can be done.

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