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Performance Measurement in the Australian Water Supply Industry

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Abstract

Various government-owned businesses provide water supply services to Australian residents. With the advent of recent competition and regulatory reforms in infrastructure industries in Australia, more and more of these businesses are now facing new types of incentive-based regulatory regimes. This has led to a desire for more information on the performance of these businesses, both relative to each other and over time. In this study we use panel data on the 18 largest Australian water services businesses, observed over an eight-year period from 1995/6 to 2002/3, to measure the relative efficiency and productivity growth of these businesses. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods are used to obtain estimates of the multi-input, multi-output production technology. The potential use of these performance measures in price-cap regulation is discussed, where the effects of variable selection and data quality upon empirical results is emphasised.

Suggested Citation

  • Tim Coelli & Shannon Walding, 2005. "Performance Measurement in the Australian Water Supply Industry," CEPA Working Papers Series WP012005, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    • Handle: RePEc:qld:uqcepa:19
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    File URL: https://economics.uq.edu.au/files/5325/WP012005.pdf
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    1. Abbott, Malcolm & Cohen, Bruce & Wang, Wei Chun, 2012. "The performance of the urban water and wastewater sectors in Australia," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 52-63.
    2. Piercarlo Pietra, 2014. "Il modello di Data Envelopment Analysis per la stima dell?efficienza nel settore idrico e alcuni risultati empirici in tema di privatizzazione," ECONOMIA E DIRITTO DEL TERZIARIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(3), pages 443-450.
    3. Mande Buafua, Patrick, 2015. "Efficiency of urban water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do organization and regulation matter?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 13-22.
    4. Hoffjan, Andreas & Lechtenberg, Christian & Schuchardt, Lukas D., 2011. "Methoden zur Effizienzmessung in der deutschen Wasserversorgung – Eine Auswertung internationaler Studien," ZögU - Zeitschrift für öffentliche und gemeinwirtschaftliche Unternehmen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 34(3), pages 325-345.
    5. Alexander Bilson Darku & Stavroula Malla & Kien C. Tran, 2016. "Sources and Measurement of Agricultural Productivity and Efficiency in Canadian Provinces: Crops and Livestock," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 64(1), pages 49-70, March.
    6. Carvalho, Anne Emília Costa & Sampaio, Luciano Menezes Bezerra, 2015. "Paths to universalize water and sewage services in Brazil: The role of regulatory authorities in promoting efficient service," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-10.
    7. Byrnes, Joel & Crase, Lin & Dollery, Brian & Villano, Renato, 2010. "The relative economic efficiency of urban water utilities in regional New South Wales and Victoria," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 439-455, August.
    8. Higuerey, Angel & Trujillo, Lourdes & González, María Manuela, 2017. "Has efficiency improved after the decentralization in the water industry in Venezuela?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 127-136.
    9. Abbott, Malcolm & Cohen, Bruce, 2009. "Productivity and efficiency in the water industry," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 233-244, September.
    10. Alexandr Akimov & Paul Simshauser, 2018. "Performance measurement in Australian water utilities: Current state and future directions," Discussion Papers in Finance finance:201802, Griffith University, Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics.
    11. Blaeschke, Frédéric & Haug, Peter, 2014. "Does Intermunicipal Cooperation Increase Efficiency? Evidence from the Hessian Wastewater Sector," IWH Discussion Papers 11/2014, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    12. Derek D. Headey & Dirk Bezemer, 2006. "Something of a Paradox: The Curious Neglect of Agriculture in Development," CEPA Working Papers Series WP012006, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    13. Constant, Labintan Adeniyi & Shijun, Ding, 2012. "Benin Agriculture Productivity and profitability Measurement," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126748, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Jean-Philippe Boussemart & Daouda Diakité & Raluca Parvulescu, 2023. "Performance of Water Utilities Evaluated from Different Stakeholders Perspectives: An Application to the Ivorian Sector," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 87-105, August.
    15. Peeter Peda & Giuseppe Grossi & Margo Liik, 2013. "Do ownership and size affect the performance of water utilities? Evidence from Estonian municipalities," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(2), pages 237-259, May.
    16. Romano, Giulia & Guerrini, Andrea, 2011. "Measuring and comparing the efficiency of water utility companies: A data envelopment analysis approach," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 202-209.
    17. de Souza Pereira, Mariana & Magalhães Filho, Fernando Jorge Corrêa & de Morais Lima, Priscila & Tabak, Benjamin Miranda & Constantino, Michel, 2022. "Sanitation and water services: Who is the most efficient provider public or private? Evidences for Brazil," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

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