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Does public ownership of utilities matter for local government water policies?

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  • Homsy, George C.
  • Warner, Mildred E.

Abstract

What differentiates local governments that implement water policies on equity and the environment? Analyzing a 2015 national survey of 1,897 U.S. municipalities, we find municipalities that own their water utilities are more likely to report policies to protect low-income residents from disconnection and implement water resource management. Respondents from 8% of municipalities report protecting residents from disconnection. State economic regulation of municipally owned utilities and Democrat-majority municipal governments are positively associated with local policies to protect low-income households from shutoffs but bear no association with resource management. Both municipal ownership of utilities and state economic regulation may play a role in meeting certain local water policy goals.

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  • Homsy, George C. & Warner, Mildred E., 2020. "Does public ownership of utilities matter for local government water policies?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:64:y:2020:i:c:s0957178720300527
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2020.101057
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