IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juipol/v28y2014icp42-51.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Efficiency in Brazil's water and sanitation sector and its relationship with regional provision, property and the independence of operators

Author

Listed:
  • Ferro, Gustavo
  • Lentini, Emilio J.
  • Mercadier, Augusto C.
  • Romero, Carlos A.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the comparative efficiency of Brazil's water and sanitation sector. We run a Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) model for a panel of 127 providers covering more than 70 percent of the country's urban population in the period 2003–2010. We use a database built on the National System of Sanitation Statistics (SNIS). The model is fitting and shows a modest efficiency average. The study has policy implications in the discussion of state-level run v. municipal-level run, government-owned v. private-provision, and corporatized providers v. dependent ones. The optimal industrial organization of the sector is discussed from the efficiency perspective. We find that regional and micro-regional firms' have lower costs than municipal providers. Administrative independence seems not relevant when explaining the cost structure, but ownership is. The joint provision of water and sanitation results in higher fixed costs compared to water-only operators. We find that there are not regional differences in cost structures. However, there are slight variations in the efficiency levels and in their dispersion in each region. Finally, inefficiency decreased at a rate of 4.9 percent per year during the time frame under study.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferro, Gustavo & Lentini, Emilio J. & Mercadier, Augusto C. & Romero, Carlos A., 2014. "Efficiency in Brazil's water and sanitation sector and its relationship with regional provision, property and the independence of operators," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 42-51.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:28:y:2014:i:c:p:42-51
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2013.12.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095717871300074X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jup.2013.12.001?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. Antonio Estache & MartÌn A. Rossi, 2002. "How Different Is the Efficiency of Public and Private Water Companies in Asia?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 16(1), pages 139-148, June.
    2. Walter, Matthias & Cullmann, Astrid & von Hirschhausen, Christian & Wand, Robert & Zschille, Michael, 2009. "Quo vadis efficiency analysis of water distribution? A comparative literature review," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 225-232, September.
    3. Massimo Filippini & Nevenka Hrovatin & Jelena Zorić, 2008. "Cost efficiency of Slovenian water distribution utilities: an application of stochastic frontier methods," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 169-182, April.
    4. Federico Belotti & Giuseppe Ilardi, 2012. "Consistent Estimation of the “True” Fixed-effects Stochastic Frontier Model," CEIS Research Paper 231, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 18 Apr 2012.
    5. Kirkpatrick, Colin & Parker, David & Zhang, Yin-Fang, 2004. "State versus Private Sector Provision of Water Services in Africa: A Statistical, DEA and Stochastic Cost Frontier Analysis," Centre on Regulation and Competition (CRC) Working papers 30604, University of Manchester, Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM).
    6. Tito Belchior Moreira & Geraldo da Silva Souza & Ricardo Coelho Faria, 2005. "Public Versus Private Water Utilities: Empirical Evidence for Brazilian Companies," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 8(2), pages 1-7.
    7. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:8:y:2005:i:2:p:1-7 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Greene, William, 2005. "Reconsidering heterogeneity in panel data estimators of the stochastic frontier model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(2), pages 269-303, June.
    9. Willam Greene, 2005. "Fixed and Random Effects in Stochastic Frontier Models," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 7-32, January.
    10. Rita Martins & Adelino Fortunato & Fernando Coelho, 2006. "Cost Structure of the Portuguese Water Industry: a Cubic Cost Function Application," GEMF Working Papers 2006-09, GEMF, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra.
    11. Felipe Mota Campos, 2011. "Economias De Escala E Ineficiência Técnica: A Importância Da Dimensão De Operação Das Concessionárias Estaduais De Água E Esgoto Brasileiras (1998-2008)," Anais do XXXVIII Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 38th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 087, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    12. David Saal & David Parker & Tom Weyman-Jones, 2007. "Determining the contribution of technical change, efficiency change and scale change to productivity growth in the privatized English and Welsh water and sewerage industry: 1985–2000," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 127-139, October.
    13. Abbott, Malcolm & Cohen, Bruce, 2009. "Productivity and efficiency in the water industry," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 233-244, September.
    14. Tupper, Henrique Cesar & Resende, Marcelo, 2004. "Efficiency and regulatory issues in the Brazilian water and sewage sector: an empirical study," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 29-40, March.
    15. Feigenbaum, Susan & Teeples, Ronald, 1983. "Public versus Private Water Delivery: A Hedonic Cost Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(4), pages 672-678, November.
    16. Sabbioni, Guillermo, 2008. "Efficiency in the Brazilian sanitation sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 11-20, March.
    17. Seroa da Motta, Ronaldo & Moreira, Ajax, 2006. "Efficiency and regulation in the sanitation sector in Brazil," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 185-195, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nyathikala, Sai Amulya & Jamasb, Tooraj & Llorca, Manuel & Kulshrestha, Mukul, 2023. "Utility governance, incentives, and performance: Evidence from India's urban water sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Danelon, André F. & Spolador, Humberto F.S. & Kumbhakar, Subal C., 2021. "Weather and population size effects on water and sewer treatment costs: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    3. Ferro, Gustavo & Lentini, Emilio J & Mercadier, Augusto & Brenner, Federica, 2014. "Eficiencia energética en el sector de agua y saneamiento: estimaciones utilizando una función de requerimientos de insumo [Energy efficiency in the water and sanitarion sector: an input requirement," MPRA Paper 58480, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Wahidin, Deni & Akimov, Alexandr & Roca, Eduardo, 2021. "The impact of bond market development on economic growth before and after the global financial crisis: Evidence from developed and developing countries," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. 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.
    6. Bako Kinga-Erzsebet & Fulop Arpad-Zoltan, 2021. "The Efficiency Equation For Water And Wastewater Operators In Romania," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1, pages 168-175, February.
    7. Ethel Ansaah Addae & Dongying Sun & Olivier Joseph Abban, 2023. "Evaluating the effect of urbanization and foreign direct investment on water use efficiency in West Africa: application of the dynamic slacks-based model and the common correlated effects mean group e," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 5867-5897, July.
    8. Sampaio, P.R.P. & Sampaio, R.S.R, 2020. "The challenges of regulating water and sanitation tariffs under a three-level shared-authority federalism model: The case of Brazil," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    9. Fernando Antonio Perrone Pinheiro & José Roberto Ferreira Savoia & Claudio Felisoni de Angelo, 2016. "A Comparative Analysis of the Public and Private Water Supply and Sanitation Service Providers’ Work in Brazil," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 13(1), pages 115-136, January.
    10. 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.
    11. Suratno & J.M.V. Mulyadi, 2020. "Taxes, Revenues and Capital Expenditure as Determinants of Financial Sufficiency of Regional Government," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 283-290.
    12. Ferro, Gustavo & Mercadier, Augusto C., 2016. "Technical efficiency in Chile's water and sanitation providers," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(PA), pages 97-106.
    13. Alvaro Cavalcanti & Arthur Teixeira & Karen Pontes, 2020. "Evaluation of the Efficiency of Basic Sanitation Integrated Management in Brazilian Municipalities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-29, December.
    14. Danelon, André Felipe & Augusto, Fernanda Gaudio & Spolador, Humberto Francisco Silva, 2021. "Water resource quality effects on water treatment costs: An analysis for the Brazilian case," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    15. de la Higuera-Molina, Emilio José & Campos-Alba, Cristina María & López-Pérez, Germán & Zafra-Gómez, José Luis, 2023. "Efficiency of water service management alternatives in Spain considering environmental factors," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    16. Salazar-Adams, Alejandro, 2021. "The efficiency of post-reform water utilities in Mexico," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    17. Tourinho, Marco & Santos, Paulo Rosa & Pinto, Francisco Taveira & Camanho, Ana S., 2022. "Performance assessment of water services in Brazilian municipalities: An integrated view of efficiency and access," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    18. Fanny Cabrera Barbecho & Juan Pablo Sarmiento, 2023. "Exploring Technical Efficiency in Water Supply Evidence from Ecuador: Do Region Location and Management Type Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, April.
    19. 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).
    20. Jose-Luis Zafra-Gómez & Germán López-Pérez & Marta Garrido-Montañés & Elisabeth Zafra-Gómez, 2023. "Cost Efficiency in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): Different Alternatives in Service Delivery for Small and Medium Sized Spanish Local Governments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-14, April.

    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. Ferro, Gustavo & Lentini, Emilio J. & Mercadier, Augusto C. & Romero, Carlos A., 2013. "Eficiencia en la prestación de agua y saneamiento y su vinculación con regiones, propiedad e independencia de los prestadores en Brasil [Efficiency in water and sanitation providers and its links w," MPRA Paper 48247, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Miguel A. García-Rubio & Francisco González-Gómez & Jorge Guardiola, 2009. "Performance and ownership in the governance of urban water," FEG Working Paper Series 09/03, Faculty of Economics and Business (University of Granada).
    3. Guerrini, Andrea & Romano, Giulia & Leardini, Chiara, 2018. "Economies of scale and density in the Italian water industry: A stochastic frontier approach," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 103-111.
    4. 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.
    5. Danelon, André F. & Spolador, Humberto F.S. & Kumbhakar, Subal C., 2021. "Weather and population size effects on water and sewer treatment costs: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    6. 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.
    7. Michael Zschille, 2014. "Nonparametric measures of returns to scale: an application to German water supply," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1029-1053, November.
    8. Walter, Matthias & Cullmann, Astrid & von Hirschhausen, Christian & Wand, Robert & Zschille, Michael, 2009. "Quo vadis efficiency analysis of water distribution? A comparative literature review," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 225-232, September.
    9. Francisco González-Gómez & Miguel García‐Rubio & Francisco Alcalá-Olid & M. Ortega-Díaz, 2013. "Outsourcing and Efficiency in the Management of Rural Water Services," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(3), pages 731-747, February.
    10. 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).
    11. Mellah, Thuraya & Ben Amor, Tawfik, 2016. "Performance of the Tunisian Water Utility: An input-distance function approach," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 18-32.
    12. Jinjin Zhao, 2020. "Productivity change in the privatized water sector in China (1999–2006)," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 227-241, April.
    13. Michael Zschille & Matthias Walter, 2012. "The performance of German water utilities: a (semi)-parametric analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(29), pages 3749-3764, October.
    14. Abbott, Malcolm & Cohen, Bruce, 2009. "Productivity and efficiency in the water industry," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 233-244, September.
    15. 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.
    16. Roberto Martínez-Espiñeira & Maria A. García-Valiñas & Francisco González-Gómez, 2009. "Does Private Management of Water Supply Services Really Increase Prices? An Empirical Analysis in Spain," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(4), pages 923-945, April.
    17. Andrea Guerrini & Giulia Romano & Bettina Campedelli, 2013. "Economies of Scale, Scope, and Density in the Italian Water Sector: A Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(13), pages 4559-4578, October.
    18. 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.
    19. Sabbioni, Guillermo, 2008. "Efficiency in the Brazilian sanitation sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 11-20, March.
    20. 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.

    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:28:y:2014:i:c:p:42-51. 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.