Has Private Participation in Water and Sewerage Improved Coverage? Empirical Evidence from Latin America

Has Private Participation in Water and Sewerage Improved Coverage? Empirical Evidence from Latin America

Introducing private sector participation (PSP) into the water and sewerage sectors in developing countries is difficult and controversial. Empirical studies on its effects are scant and generally inconclusive. Case studies tend to find improvements...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wallsten, Scott, Kosec, Katrina, Clarke, George R. G.
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: Washington, DC: World Bank 2013
Subjects:
BANKS
BIDDING
BROAD RANGE
COMMERCIAL BANKS
CONSUMER SATISFACTION
CORRUPTION
DRAINAGE
ECONOMICS
EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
EMPIRICAL STUDIES
EXTERNALITIES
FIXED COSTS
HEALTH OUTCOMES
INCOME
INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES
LABOR PRODUCTIVITY
LIVING CONDITIONS
MARGINAL COST
MARKET COMPETITION
MONOPOLIES
MORTALITY
MUNICIPAL WATER
PIPED WATER
PIPES
POLICY RESEARCH
POPULATION DENSITY
POPULATION GROWTH
PRICE CHANGES
PRIVATE SECTOR
PRODUCTIVITY
SANITATION
SELECTION BIAS
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
WATER CONSUMPTION
WATER PRICES
WATER QUALITY
WATER SUPPLY
WATER SYSTEMS
WATER UTILITIES
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/11/5494088/private-participation-water-sewerage-improved-coverage-empirical-evidence-latin-america
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13898
Description
Summary:Introducing private sector participation (PSP) into the water and sewerage sectors in developing countries is difficult and controversial. Empirical studies on its effects are scant and generally inconclusive. Case studies tend to find improvements in the sector following privatization, but they suffer from selection bias, and it is difficult to generalize from their results. To explore empirically the effects of PSP on coverage, we assemble a new dataset of connections to water and sewerage services at the city, and province level, based on household surveys in Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil. The household surveys, conducted over a number of years, allow us to compile data, before and after the introduction of PSP, as well as from similar (control) regions that never privatized at all. Our analysis reveals that, in general, connection rates to piped water and sewerage, improved following the introduction of PSP, consistent with the case study literature. We also find, however, that connection rates similarly improved in the control regions, suggesting that PSP, per se, may not have been responsible for those improvements. On the other hand, connection rates for the poorest households also tended to increase in the regions with PSP, and in the control regions, suggesting that-in terms of connections at least-PSP did not harm the poor.

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