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Does Water Governance Matter?

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  • Daniel W. Bromley

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA)

  • Glen Anderson

    (Abt Associates, Durham, NC, USA)

Abstract

We develop a series of diagnostic models covering 82 of the world’s poorest countries over the period 1991–2015. Our purpose is to assess several important attributes of water governance in these developing countries. Specifically: (1) do water-related public services make important contributions to per capita GDP and general livelihood prospects? (2) what factors seem to explain the quite different national commitments to the provision of water-related public services? and (3) do observed variations in water-related public services provide evidence of governance quality? Our diagnostic models suggest that water-related public services indeed contribute to per capita GDP and to improved public health outcomes across these developing countries. We then derive a variable capturing fiscal effort in the provision of quasi-public services — the availability of improved water supply and sanitation services — controlling for variations in national ability to pay (per capita GDP). We call this commitment an index of instrumental governance. With this index of instrumental governance, we conclude that water governance offers an important measure of a proxy for the civic commitment of governments in the world’s poorest nations. We conclude that an important aspect of “governance” is captured by the extent to which governments make difficult financial commitments that will improve per capita GDP and general livelihood prospects of their citizens.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel W. Bromley & Glen Anderson, 2018. "Does Water Governance Matter?," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(03), pages 1-32, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:wepxxx:v:04:y:2018:i:03:n:s2382624x17500023
    DOI: 10.1142/S2382624X17500023
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sanford V. Berg, 2020. "Performance Assessment Using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Water Utilities: A Primer," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(02), pages 1-25, April.
    2. Daniel, D. & Pande, Saket & Rietveld, Luuk, 2022. "Endogeneity in water use behaviour across case studies of household water treatment adoption in developing countries," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).

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