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Has Private Participation in Water and Sewerage Improved Coverage? Empirical Evidence from Latin America

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  • Clarke, George
  • Kosec, Katrina
  • Wallsten, Scott

Abstract

Introducing private sector participation (PSP) into the water and sewerage sectors in developing countries is difficult and controversial. Empirical studies on its effects are scant and generally inconclusive. Case studies tend to find improvements in the sector following privatization, but they suffer from selection bias and it is difficult to generalize from their results. To explore empirically the effects of PSP, we assemble a new dataset of connections to water and sewerage services at the city and province level based on household surveys in Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil. The household surveys, conducted over a number of years, allow us to compile data before and after the introduction of PSP as well as from similar (control) regions that never privatized at all. Our analysis reveals that, in general, connection rates to piped water and sewerage improved following the introduction of PSP, consistent with the case study literature. We also find, however, that connection rates similarly improved in the control regions, suggesting that PSP, per se, may not have been responsible for those improvements. On the other hand, connection rates for the poorest households also tended to increase in the regions with PSP and in the control regions, suggesting that ,in terms of connections at least, PSP did not harm the poor.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Regulation2point0 in its series Working paper with number 370.

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Date of creation: Jan 2004
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Handle: RePEc:reg:wpaper:370

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  1. Sebastian Galiani & Paul Gertler & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2002. "Water for Life: The Impact of the Privatization of Water Services on Child Mortality," Working Papers 54, Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia, revised Sep 2005.
  2. Antonio Estache, 1994. "World Development Report: Infrastructure for Development," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/44144, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
  3. Clarke, George R. G. & Gebreab, Frew A. & Mgombelo, Henry R., 2003. "Telecommunications reform in Malawi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3036, The World Bank.
  4. Komives, Kristin & Whittington, Dale & Wu, Xun, 2001. "Infrastructure coverage and the poor : the global perspective," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2551, The World Bank.
  5. Peter T. Robbins, 2003. "Transnational corporations and the discourse of water privatization," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(8), pages 1073-1082.
  6. Azam, Jean-Paul & Dia, Magueye & N'Guessan, Tchetche, 2002. "Telecommunications sector reforms in Senegal," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2894, The World Bank.
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  8. Dilip Mookherjee & David McKenzie, 2001. "The Distributive Impact of Privatization in Latin America: Evidence from Four Countries," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-128, Boston University - Department of Economics, revised 2002.
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  11. Jeffry M. Netter & William L. Megginson, 2001. "From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 321-389, June.
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Cited by:
  1. Felipe Barrera-Osorio & Mauricio Olivera & Carlos Ospino, 2009. "Does Society Win or Lose as a Result of Privatization? The Case of Water Sector Privatization in Colombia," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 76(304), pages 649-674, October.
  2. Antonio Estache, 2010. "A survey of impact evaluations of infrastructure projects, programs and policies," Working Papers ECARES 2010_005, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
  3. Sebastian Galiani & Martín González Rozada & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2007. "Expansiones de Agua en las Barriadas: Salud y Ahorros," Research Department Publications 3235, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  4. Mauricio Olivera & Felipe Barrera, 2007. "La sociedad gana o pierde como resultado de la privatizacion? El caso de Colombia," Research Department Publications 3231, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  5. Estache, A. & Goicoechea, A. & Trujillo, L., 2007. "Utilities reforms and corruption in developing countries," Working Papers 07/07, Department of Economics, City University London.
  6. Marcela Meléndez & Andrés Gómez-Lobo Echeñique, 2007. "Social Policy, Regulation and Private Sector water supply: the case of Colombia," Working Papers wp252, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
  7. Sheila M. Olmstead, 2010. "The Economics of Managing Scarce Water Resources," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4(2), pages 179-198, Summer.
  8. Lee, Cassey, 2011. "Privatization, water access and affordability: Evidence from Malaysian household expenditure data," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 2121-2128, September.
  9. Karl-Ulrich Rudolph & Michael Harbach, 2007. "Private Sector Participation in Water and Sanitation for Developing Countries," CESifo DICE Report, Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 5(2), pages 33-39, 07.
  10. Parker, David & Kirkpatrick, Colin & Figueira-Theodorakopoulou, Catarina, 2008. "Infrastructure regulation and poverty reduction in developing countries: A review of the evidence and a research agenda," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 177-188, May.
  11. Sebastian Galiani & Martín González Rozada & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2007. "Water Expansions in Shantytowns: Health and Savings," Research Department Publications 3234, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  12. Paul Carrillo & Orazio Bellettini & Elizabeth Coombs, 2007. "Mantenerse público o privatizar? Análisis comparativo del servicio de agua entre Quito y Guayaquil," Research Department Publications 3237, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  13. Claudia Marcela Granados Vergara, 2008. "¿Contribuyen las reformas al progreso social?, el caso de los servicios de acueducto y alcantarillado y la mortalidad infantil en Colombia 1990-2004," DOCUMENTOS CEDE 004738, UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES-CEDE.
  14. César P. Bouillon & Luis Tejerina, 2006. "Do We Know What Works?: A Systematic Review of Impact Evaluations of Social Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications 23598, Inter-American Development Bank.
  15. Paul Carrillo & Orazio Bellettini & Elizabeth Coombs, 2007. "Stay Public or Go Private?: A Comparative Analysis of Water Services between Quito and Guayaquil," Research Department Publications 3236, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  16. John Nellis, 2006. "Privatization: A Summary Assessment," Working Papers 87, Center for Global Development.

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