Universal(ly Bad) Service : Providing Infrastructure Services to Rural and Poor Urban Consumers

Until recently, utility services (telecommunications, power, water, and gas) throughout the world were provided by large, usually state-owned, monopolies. However, encouraged by technological change, regulatory innovation, and pressure from interna...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Clarke, George R. G., Wallsten, Scott J.
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2014
Subjects:	ASSETS AUCTIONS CASH TRANSFERS CHILD HEALTH CLEAN WATER CLINICS COMMUNICABLE DISEASES COMPETITION POLICY CONNECTION FEES CONSUMERS CONSUMPTION LEVELS CREAM SKIMMING CROSS SUBSIDIES CROSS-SUBSIDIES CUBIC METER CUBIC METER OF WATER CUBIC METERS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ECONOMICS ECONOMISTS EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EQUILIBRIUM EXTERNALITIES EXTREME POVERTY HEALTH CARE HEALTH OUTCOMES HOUSEHOLDS HOUSING INCOME INCOME GROUPS INCOME LEVELS INEFFICIENCY INVESTMENT DECISIONS LAWS LEGISLATION LOW INCOME LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS MARGINAL COST MERIT GOOD MONOPOLIES MONOPOLY MUNICIPALITIES NATIONAL WATER SUPPLY NETWORK EXTERNALITIES NORMAL GOOD PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY RESEARCH POSITIVE EXTERNALITIES PRICE ELASTICITIES PRIVATE MARGINAL COST PRIVATIZATION PUBLIC HEALTH QUALITY STANDARDS RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS SANITATION SERVICES SERVICE PROVIDERS SERVICE PROVISION SEWAGE SMALL TOWNS TAX REVENUES TAXATION TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE TELECOMMUNICATIONS TELEPHONE COVERAGE TOWNS TRANSITION ECONOMIES UTILITIES UTILITY SERVICES WATER COMPANIES WATER CONSUMPTION WATER SECTOR WATER SERVICES WATER SUPPLY WATER SUPPLY SERVICES WATER USE WATER UTILITIES WEALTH WELLS SERVICE DELIVERY INFRASTRUCTURE RURAL COMMUNITIES URBAN POVERTY UTILITY FUNCTIONS STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES REGULATORY STRUCTURE PRIVATIZATION POLICY COMPETITIVENESS PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY ACCESSIBLE SERVICES LOW-INCOME PEOPLE CONSUMER SATISFACTION HOUSEHOLD DATA
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/07/1971352/universally-bad-service-providing-infrastructure-services-rural-poor-urban-consumers http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19264

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Summary:	Until recently, utility services (telecommunications, power, water, and gas) throughout the world were provided by large, usually state-owned, monopolies. However, encouraged by technological change, regulatory innovation, and pressure from international organizations, many developing countries are privatizing state-owned companies and introducing competition. Some observers worry that even if reforms improve efficiency, they might compromise an important public policy goal-ensuring "universal access" for low-income and rural households. The authors review the motivation for universal service, methods used to try to achieve it under monopoly service provision, how reforms might affect these approaches, and the theoretical and empirical evidence of the impact of reform on these consumers. Next, using household data from around the world, they investigate empirically the historical performance of public monopolies in meeting universal service obligations and the impact of reform. The results show the massive failure of state monopolies to provide service to poor and rural households everywhere except Eastern Europe. Moreover, while the data are limited, the evidence suggests that reforms have not harmed poor and rural consumers, and in many cases have improved their access to utility services. Nevertheless, because competition undermines traditional methods of funding universal service objectives (cross-subsidies), the authors also review mechanisms that could finance these objectives without compromising the benefits of reforms.

Universal(ly Bad) Service : Providing Infrastructure Services to Rural and Poor Urban Consumers

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