IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/deveco/v160y2023ics0304387822001134.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Privatization of public goods: Evidence from the sanitation sector in Senegal

Author

Listed:
  • Deutschmann, Joshua W.
  • Gars, Jared
  • Houde, Jean-François
  • Lipscomb, Molly
  • Schechter, Laura

Abstract

Privatization of a public good (the management of sewage treatment centers in Dakar, Senegal) leads to an increase in the productivity of downstream sewage dumping companies and a decrease in downstream prices of the services they provide to households. We use the universe of legal dumping of sanitation waste from May 2009 to May 2018 to show that legal dumping increased substantially following privatization—on average an increase of 74%, or an increase of about 1640 trips to treatment centers each month. This is due to increased productivity of all trucks, not just those associated with the company managing the privatized treatment centers. Household-level survey data shows that downstream prices of legal sanitary dumping decreased by 5% following privatization, and DHS data shows that diarrhea rates among children under five decreased in Dakar relative to secondary cities in Senegal following privatization with no similar effect on respiratory illness as a placebo.

Suggested Citation

  • Deutschmann, Joshua W. & Gars, Jared & Houde, Jean-François & Lipscomb, Molly & Schechter, Laura, 2023. "Privatization of public goods: Evidence from the sanitation sector in Senegal," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:160:y:2023:i:c:s0304387822001134
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102971
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387822001134
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102971?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 look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J. Vernon Henderson & Matthew A. Turner, 2020. "Urbanization in the Developing World: Too Early or Too Slow?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 150-173, Summer.
    2. Nava Ashraf & Edward L. Glaeser & Giacomo A. M. Ponzetto, 2016. "Infrastructure, Incentives, and Institutions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 77-82, May.
    3. Kosec, Katrina, 2014. "The child health implications of privatizing africa's urban water supply," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 1-19.
    4. Tasneem Chipty, 2001. "Vertical Integration, Market Foreclosure, and Consumer Welfare in the Cable Television Industry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(3), pages 428-453, June.
    5. Mauricio Romero & Justin Sandefur & Wayne Aaron Sandholtz, 2020. "Outsourcing Education: Experimental Evidence from Liberia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(2), pages 364-400, February.
    6. Ali Hortaçsu & Chad Syverson, 2007. "Cementing Relationships: Vertical Integration, Foreclosure, Productivity, and Prices," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 115, pages 250-301.
    7. Hammer, Jeffrey & Spears, Dean, 2016. "Village sanitation and child health: Effects and external validity in a randomized field experiment in rural India," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 135-148.
    8. 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.
    9. Abhijit Banerjee & Rema Hanna & Jordan Kyle & Benjamin A. Olken & Sudarno Sumarto, 2019. "Private Outsourcing and Competition: Subsidized Food Distribution in Indonesia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(1), pages 101-137.
    10. Sebastian Galiani & Paul Gertler & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2005. "Water for Life: The Impact of the Privatization of Water Services on Child Mortality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 83-120, February.
    11. Shaun McRae, 2015. "Infrastructure Quality and the Subsidy Trap," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(1), pages 35-66, January.
    12. Colin Kirkpatrick & David Parker & Yin-Fang Zhang, 2006. "An Empirical Analysis of State and Private-Sector Provision of Water Services in Africa," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 20(1), pages 143-163.
    13. Barberis, Nicholas & Maxim Boycko & Andrei Shleifer & Natalia Tsukanova, 1996. "How Does Privatization Work? Evidence from the Russian Shops," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(4), pages 764-790, August.
    14. Albert Chong & Florencio López-de-Silanes, 2004. "Privatization in Latin America: What Does the Evidence Say?," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 37-111, January.
    15. David McKenzie & Dilip Mookherjee, 2003. "The Distributive Impact of Privatization in Latin America: Evidence from Four Countries," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 161-234, January.
    16. Oliver Hart & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 112(4), pages 1127-1161.
    17. Duncan Mara & Jon Lane & Beth Scott & David Trouba, 2010. "Sanitation and Health," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(11), pages 1-7, November.
    18. Lipscomb, Molly & Schechter, Laura, 2018. "Subsidies versus mental accounting nudges: Harnessing mobile payment systems to improve sanitation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 235-254.
    19. Saiani, Carlos & Azevedo, Paulo Furquim de, 2018. "Is privatization of sanitation services good for health?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 27-36.
    20. Granados, Claudia & Sánchez, Fabio, 2014. "Water Reforms, Decentralization and Child Mortality in Colombia, 1990–2005," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 68-79.
    21. Hart, Oliver D. & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, R. W., 1997. "The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons," Scholarly Articles 30727607, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    22. Fernando Luco & Guillermo Marshall, 2020. "The Competitive Impact of Vertical Integration by Multiproduct Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(7), pages 2041-2064, July.
    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. Emerick, Kyle & De Janvry, Alain & Sadoulet, Elisabeth & Dar, Manzoor & Wiseman, Eleanor, 2020. "Private Input Suppliers as Information Agents for Technology Adoption in Agriculture," CEPR Discussion Papers 15584, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Sergei Guriev & William Megginson, 2006. "Privatization: What We have Learned," Post-Print hal-03459145, HAL.
    3. Adwoa Asantewaa & Tooraj Jamasb & Manuel Llorca, 2022. "Electricity Sector Reform Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Parametric Distance Function Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-29, March.
    4. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1quv2b21ai9o7p6v4ihttv00hu is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Brown, David J. & Earle, John S. & Telegdy, Almos, 2016. "Where does privatization work? Understanding the heterogeneity in estimated firm performance effects," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 329-362.
    6. Saiani, Carlos & Azevedo, Paulo Furquim de, 2018. "Is privatization of sanitation services good for health?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 27-36.
    7. Boardman, Anthony E. & Vining, Aidan R. & Weimer, David L., 2016. "The long-run effects of privatization on productivity: Evidence from Canada," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 1001-1017.
    8. Matias Busso & Sebastian Galiani, 2019. "The Causal Effect of Competition on Prices and Quality: Evidence from a Field Experiment," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 33-56, January.
    9. 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.
    10. Perotti,Enrico C., 2004. "State ownership - a residual role?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3407, The World Bank.
    11. Marta Suárez-Varela & María los Ángeles García-Valiñas & Francisco González-Gómez & Andrés J Picazo-Tadeo, 2017. "Ownership and Performance in Water Services Revisited: Does Private Management Really Outperform Public?," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(8), pages 2355-2373, June.
    12. Sergei Guriev & William Megginson, 2006. "Privatization: What We have Learned: World Bank's ABCDE 2006," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/1quv2b21ai9, Sciences Po.
    13. Bel, Germà, 2020. "Public versus private water delivery, remunicipalization and water tariffs," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    14. Junlong Chen & Chaoqun Sun & Ruiyu He & Yibing Zhang & Jiali Liu, 2023. "Optimal nationalization policy in a heterogeneous mixed oligopoly," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(2), pages 807-827, March.
    15. D'Souza, Juliet & Megginson, William & Nash, Robert, 2007. "The effects of changes in corporate governance and restructurings on operating performance: Evidence from privatizations," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 157-184.
    16. Kresch, Evan Plous & Walker, Mark & Best, Michael Carlos & Gerard, François & Naritomi, Joana, 2023. "Sanitation and property tax compliance: Analyzing the social contract in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    17. Lazzarini,Sergio G., 2022. "The Right Privatization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781316519714, October.
    18. Alberto Chong & Virgilio Galdo & Máximo Torero, 2005. "Does Privatization Deliver? Access to Telephone Services and Household Income in Poor Rural Areas Using a Quasi-Natural Experiment in Peru," Research Department Publications 4417, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    19. Christopher Hansman & Jonas Hjort & Gianmarco León-Ciliotta & Matthieu Teachout, 2020. "Vertical Integration, Supplier Behavior, and Quality Upgrading among Exporters," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(9), pages 3570-3625.
    20. Birgitte Grøgaard & Asmund Rygh & Gabriel R. G. Benito, 2019. "Bringing corporate governance into internalization theory: State ownership and foreign entry strategies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1310-1337, October.
    21. Ming Lu & Zhao Chen & Shuang Zhang, 2008. "Paying for the Dream of Public Ownership: Case Studies on Corruption and Privatization in China," Transition Studies Review, Springer;Central Eastern European University Network (CEEUN), vol. 15(2), pages 355-373, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sanitation; Privatization; Urban development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:deveco:v:160:y:2023:i:c:s0304387822001134. 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: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devec .

    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.