 the development is to be supported. New infrastructure development would mostly take place outside of the OECD countries, while within those countries water systems and services would require maintenance and upgrading in response to the changing structure of economies and increasing societal requirements. The ability to fund and therefore provide water services does depend on continued economic growth. The figures have shown that as an economy develops, the composition of its economic stock and the relative allocation of sectoral investment changes. In these terms, water services decline in importance relative to other infrastructure stocks and proportionally require less investment. Thus as economies grow, the burden of investment decreases and affordability increases - in other words, the whole system becomes more affordable. It also implies that financial investment in water service providers becomes less risky, that stock market performance is less volatile, and that returns are steady and stable but not spectacular. Thus, continued economic growth in developing countries provides one of the means to improve their water service provision and to cope with the increasing demands, especially in the rapidly urbanising areas. The funding gap that is apparent in some countries (WaterAid, 2005) could gradually be addressed. A slowdown in economic growth would have a severe impact on the ability of countries to invest in and maintain their water services and lead to a widening of the funding gap even in more developed countries. An indication of the consequences could be gained by reference to the experiences of Russia INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030: TELECOM, LAND TRANSPORT, WATER AND ELECTRICITY - ISBN 92-64-02398-4 © OECD 2006 5. THE IMPACTS OF CHANGE ON THE LONG-TERM FUTURE DEMAND FOR WATER SECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE and the former Eastern Bloc countries in the late 1980s and through the 1990s. Investment in new works would be severely curtailed, the required levels of maintenance would not be achieved and regulatory control 