IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juipol/v71y2021ics0957178721000631.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Water and sanitation governance between austerity and financialization

Author

Listed:
  • Almeida, Renan P.
  • Hungaro, Lucas

Abstract

Drawing from quantitative and qualitative research, this paper explores the case of COPASA – a mixed-capital regional water and sanitation utility in Brazil facing a context of austerity and privatization. We find that the state government, shrinking in a fiscal crisis, opted to increase extraordinary dividends payouts to raise its revenues. Given the mixed company mode of privatization, the private shareholders endorsed this pattern of governance, motivated by a short sight financial logic. This convergence of different interests led the utility to lower investments, failed investment plans, breaches of contracts with municipalities and making it even harder to universalize the services.

Suggested Citation

  • Almeida, Renan P. & Hungaro, Lucas, 2021. "Water and sanitation governance between austerity and financialization," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:71:y:2021:i:c:s0957178721000631
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2021.101229
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957178721000631
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jup.2021.101229?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yunji Kim & Mildred E Warner, 2018. "Shrinking local autonomy: corporate coalitions and the subnational state," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 11(3), pages 427-441.
    2. Boyer, Robert, 2005. "How and Why Capitalisms Differ," MPIfG Discussion Paper 05/4, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    3. McDonald, David A., 2016. "To corporatize or not to corporatize (and if so, how?)," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 107-114.
    4. Jamie Peck, 2014. "Editor's choice Pushing austerity: state failure, municipal bankruptcy and the crises of fiscal federalism in the USA," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 7(1), pages 17-44.
    5. Palma, J.G., 2009. "The Revenge of the Market on the Rentiers: Why neo-liberal Reports of the end of history turned out to be premature (Updated 19 December 2011)," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0927, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    6. Mildred E. Warner & Judith Clifton, 2014. "Editor's choice Marketisation, public services and the city: the potential for Polanyian counter movements," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 7(1), pages 45-61.
    7. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    8. Bel Germà & Fageda Xavier & E. Mildred, 2014. "Is private production of public services cheaper than public production? A meta-regression analysis of solid waste and water services," Public administration issues, Higher School of Economics, issue 3, pages 103-140.
    9. Ananya Roy, 2009. "The 21st-Century Metropolis: New Geographies of Theory," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(6), pages 819-830.
    10. Ananya Roy, 2011. "Slumdog Cities: Rethinking Subaltern Urbanism," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 223-238, March.
    11. Sinharoy, Sheela S. & Pittluck, Rachel & Clasen, Thomas, 2019. "Review of drivers and barriers of water and sanitation policies for urban informal settlements in low-income and middle-income countries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Favero, Carlo A. & Giavazzi, Francesco & Alesina, Alberto & Paradisi, Matteo & Barbiero, Omar, 2017. "The effects of Fiscal Consolidations: Theory and Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 12016, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. José Gabriel Palma, 2009. "The revenge of the market on the rentiers," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 33(4), pages 829-869, July.
    14. Robert Boyer, 2005. "How and why capitalisms differ," Post-Print halshs-00754052, HAL.
    15. Theophano Patra & Sunil Poshakwale & Kean Ow-Yong, 2012. "Determinants of corporate dividend policy in Greece," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(13), pages 1079-1087, July.
    16. Robert Boyer, 2005. "How and why capitalisms differ," Post-Print hal-00812971, HAL.
    17. Rafael S. M. Ribeiro & Gilberto Tadeu Lima, 2019. "Government expenditure ceiling and public debt dynamics in a demand-led macromodel," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(3), pages 363-389, July.
    18. Judith Clifton & Daniel Diaz-Fuentes & Ana Lara Gómez, 2018. "The crisis as opportunity? On the role of the Troika in constructing the European consolidation state," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 11(3), pages 587-608.
    19. Linda Lobao & Mia Gray & Kevin Cox & Michael Kitson, 2018. "The shrinking state? Understanding the assault on the public sector," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 11(3), pages 389-408.
    20. Barbosa, Alexandro & Lima, Severino Cesário de & Brusca, Isabel, 2016. "Governance and efficiency in the Brazilian water utilities: A dynamic analysis in the process of universal access," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(PA), pages 82-96.
    21. Oskar Kowalewski & Ivan Stetsyuk & Oleksandr Talavera, 2008. "Does corporate governance determine dividend payouts in Poland?," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 203-218.
    22. Jeroen Klink & Vanessa Lucena Empinotti & Marcelo Aversa, 2020. "On contested water governance and the making of urban financialisation: Exploring the case of metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(8), pages 1676-1695, June.
    23. Anis Chowdhury & Iyanatul Islam, 2012. "The Debate on Expansionary Fiscal Consolidation: How Robust is the Evidence?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 23(3), pages 13-38, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Céline Gainet, 2010. "Exploring the Impact of Legal Systems and Financial Structure on Corporate Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 195-222, September.
    2. Yuanshuo Xu & Mildred E. Warner, 2022. "Crowding Out Development: Fiscal Federalism after the Great Recession," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 54(2), pages 311-329, March.
    3. Yunji Kim & Austin M Aldag & Mildred E Warner, 2021. "Blocking the progressive city: How state pre-emptions undermine labour rights in the USA," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(6), pages 1158-1175, May.
    4. Beckert, Jens & Ebbinghaus, Bernhard & Hassel, Anke & Manow, Philip (ed.), 2006. "Transformationen des Kapitalismus: Festschrift für Wolfgang Streeck zum sechzigsten Geburtstag," Schriften aus dem Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung Köln, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, volume 57, number 57.
    5. David Neilson, 2021. "Beyond Regressive Nationalism and the Neoliberal Model of Development," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 53(1), pages 17-34, March.
    6. ten Brink, Tobias, 2010. "Strukturmerkmale des chinesischen Kapitalismus," MPIfG Discussion Paper 10/1, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    7. Fritz, Martin & Koch, Max, 2014. "Potentials for prosperity without growth: Ecological sustainability, social inclusion and the quality of life in 38 countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 191-199.
    8. Naoise McDonagh, 2021. "Credit Guidance for a Desired Economy: An Original Institutional Economics Critique of Financialization," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 53(4), pages 675-693, December.
    9. Reale, Filippo, 2019. "Governing innovation systems: A Parsonian social systems perspective," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    10. Rachael Gibson & Harald Bathelt, 2014. "Proximity relations and global knowledge flows: specialization and diffusion processes across capitalist varieties," Chapters, in: André Torre & Frédéric Wallet (ed.), Regional Development and Proximity Relations, chapter 9, pages 291-314, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Alexander Ebner, 2010. "Varieties of Capitalism and the Limits of Entrepreneurship Policy: Institutional Reform in Germany’s Coordinated Market Economy," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 319-341, September.
    12. Vladimír Baláž, 2006. "Politická ekonómia slovenského kapitalizmu: inštitucionálna a evolučná perspektíva [Political economy of the slovak capitalism from perspective of the institutional and evolutionary economics]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2006(5), pages 610-631.
    13. Hein, Eckhard & Dodig, Nina & Budyldina, Natalia, 2014. "Financial, economic and social systems: French Regulation School, Social Structures of Accumulation and Post-Keynesian approaches compared," IPE Working Papers 34/2014, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    14. Kalinowski, Thomas, 2013. "Crisis management and the varieties of capitalism: Fiscal stimulus packages and the transformation of East Asian state-led capitalism since 2008," Discussion Papers, Project Group Modes of Economic Governance SP III 2013-501, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    15. Alexei Izyumov & Trista Claxon, 2009. "Models of Capitalism and Income Distribution in Transition Economies: A Comparative Perspective," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(3), pages 733-758.
    16. Weiping Liu & Jiatao Li, 2019. "Unbalanced Institutions in Market Transition: How Do They Matter for Firm Strategic Choices and Performance in Emerging Economies?," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 675-702, October.
    17. Jonnergård Karin & Larsson-Olaison Ulf, 2018. "Doxa of Shareholders and Owners: On the Threshold of Financialization," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 8(3), pages 1-18, December.
    18. Nina Dodig & Hansjorg Herr, 2015. "Theories of finance and financial crisis – Lessons for the Great Recession," Working papers wpaper126, Financialisation, Economy, Society & Sustainable Development (FESSUD) Project.
    19. Voeten, J. & de Haan, J.A.C. & Roome, N. & de Groot, G.A., 2015. "Understanding responsible innovation in small producers’ clusters in Vietnam through Actor Network Theory (ANT)," Other publications TiSEM c111d44f-b8ce-4885-837d-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    20. Ashby H. B. Monk, 2008. "The Knot of Contracts: The Corporate Geography of Legacy Costs," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 84(2), pages 211-235, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:71:y:2021:i:c:s0957178721000631. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/utilities-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.