Les écarts de prix de l'eau en France entre les secteurs privé et public

Over the next years, many private contracts to manage water provision are due to expire in France. The expiration of these contracts offers municipalities an opportunity to reconsider private management of water provision in favor of public management. A large majority of French municipalities currently delegate water services to private companies that face increasing opposition. The debate over the private provision of water services focuses particularly on prices. Indeed, prices are on average higher in municipalities where water services are privately managed. The purpose of this paper is to accurately evaluate the impact of private water management on water prices in France, taking into account the selection bias. Contrary to the previous empirical studies, we show that private management does not have a statistically significant impact on water prices. Classification JEL : C21, L33, Q25