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An analysis of inefficiency of big urban water utilities in Latin-America

Author

Listed:
  • José Luis Bonifaz

    (Universidad del Pacífico)

  • Reyk Itakura

    (Universidad del Pacífico)

Abstract

This study uses a stochastic frontier parametrical approach to analyze the inefficiency of firms in the water industry between 1999 and 2010. For this purpose, an unbalanced panel of data from 12 firms from all over Latin America was used. One of the main findings of the study is that companies from the private sector outperform those from the public sector over time. Another conclusion is that there are no economies of scale or density, considering the actual size of the average sector. Finally, inefficiency shows a positive correlation with the firms’ size and with the length of the network.

Suggested Citation

  • José Luis Bonifaz & Reyk Itakura, 2014. "An analysis of inefficiency of big urban water utilities in Latin-America," Working Papers 14-13, Centro de Investigación, Universidad del Pacífico.
    • Handle: RePEc:pai:wpaper:14-13
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alaimo, Veronica & Cafagna, Gianluca & Elacqua, Gregory & Giles Álvarez, Laura & Izquierdo, Alejandro & Keefer, Philip & Martínez Von der Fecht, Matías & Vuletin, Guillermo & Moreno-Serra, Rodrigo & P, 2018. "Better Spending for Better Lives: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Do More with Less," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 9152, November.

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