Optimal Size for Utilities? Returns to Scale in Water: Evidence from Benchmarking
Using data from 270 water and sanitation providers, this Note investigates the relationship between a utility's size and its operating costs. The current trend toward transferring responsibility for providing services to the municipal level is...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Viewpoint |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/01/5628543/optimal-size-utilities http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11235 |
| Summary: | Using data from 270 water and sanitation
providers, this Note investigates the relationship between a
utility's size and its operating costs. The current
trend toward transferring responsibility for providing
services to the municipal level is driven in part by the
assumption that this will make providers more responsive to
customers' needs. But findings reported here suggest
that smaller municipalities may face higher per-customer
costs and could lower costs (and prices for consumers) by merging. |
|---|