The Private Sector and Water Pricing in Efficient Urban Water Management PDF Download

Author: Dominique Lorrain
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131721191X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
In recent years the water sector has undergone profound institutional, economic and political transformations. Some countries have encouraged privatization of water services, but in many cases this has provoked adverse reaction to such a neoliberal and market-based approach to this common shared but essential resource. This book goes beyond the ideology of the public versus private water regime debate, by focusing on the results of these types of initiatives to provide better water services, particularly in urban settings. It provides numerous examples of alternative models, to show who is responsible for implementing such systems and what are their social, institutional and technical-scientific characteristics. Policies are analysed in terms of their implications for employees and residents. The book presents a new combinatory approach of water regimes, based on several international case studies (Argentina, Bolivia, China, France, Germany, India, South Africa and the USA, plus a comparison of three cities in Africa) presenting specific challenges for water models. These case studies demonstrate the successes and problems of a range of private sector involvements in the provision of water services, and provide examples of how small-scale systems can compare with larger-scale more technical systems.

Author: Karen Bakker
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801467004
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Water supply privatization was emblematic of the neoliberal turn in development policy in the 1990s. Proponents argued that the private sector could provide better services at lower costs than governments; opponents questioned the risks involved in delegating control over a life-sustaining resource to for-profit companies. Private-sector activity was most concentrated—and contested—in large cities in developing countries, where the widespread lack of access to networked water supplies was characterized as a global crisis. In Privatizing Water, Karen Bakker focuses on three questions: Why did privatization emerge as a preferred alternative for managing urban water supply? Can privatization fulfill its proponents' expectations, particularly with respect to water supply to the urban poor? And, given the apparent shortcomings of both privatization and conventional approaches to government provision, what are the alternatives? In answering these questions, Bakker engages with broader debates over the role of the private sector in development, the role of urban communities in the provision of "public" services, and the governance of public goods. She introduces the concept of "governance failure" as a means of exploring the limitations facing both private companies and governments. Critically examining a range of issues—including the transnational struggle over the human right to water, the "commons" as a water-supply-management strategy, and the environmental dimensions of water privatization—Privatizing Water is a balanced exploration of a critical issue that affects billions of people around the world.

Author: Christopher A. Scott
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040277519
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
The privatization of water supply and wastewater systems, together with institutional restructuring of governance – through decentralization and the penetration of global firms in local and regional markets – have been promoted as solutions to increase economic efficiency and achieve universal water supply and sanitation coverage. Yet a significant share of service provision and water resources development remains the responsibility of public authorities. The chapters in this book – with case evidence from Argentina, Chile, France, the USA, and other countries – address critical questions that dominate the international agenda on public versus private utilities, service provision, regulations, and resource development. This book presents varied perspectives – largely complementary but at times contrasting – on public and private governance of water. Public authority in general is being reasserted over service provision, while resource development and investments in infrastructure continue as a mix of public and private initiatives. But more important, increased oversight and regulation of market-based initiatives that until recently were touted as panaceas for water supply and sanitation are increasingly being reconsidered on the basis of social equity, environmental, and public health concerns. This book was based on the special issue of Water International.

Author: Katharina Gassner
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821377175
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
This study examines the question of private versus public performance in a natural monopoly setting. It analyzes data from 301 utilities with private sector participation (PSP) and 926 utilities without PSP in 71 developing and transition economies to evaluate the impact of PSP on firm performance in electricity distribution and water and sanitation services. Private participation is shown to be associated with an increase in connections, labor productivity, and bill collection rates, and a decrease in employment and electricity distributional losses.

Author: Julien Chaisse
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1785366726
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 443

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Book Description
This book is about the issues, challenges and directions currently faced by water as a key resource for mankind. The book aims at providing a finer understanding of the water regulatory future. The contributions in this book are grouped around specific themes. In Part I, the contributions address the water challenge to public international law. In Part II, the authors explore the most pressing ethical, legal, and social issues. In Part III, the discussion covers the economic drivers shaping the future of water.

Author: Luis A. Andrés
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This book provides insights into infrastructure sector performance by focusing on the links between key indicators for utilities, and changes in ownership, regulatory agency governance, and corporate governance, among other dimensions. By linking inputs and outputs over the last 15 years, the analysis is able to uncover key determinants that have impacted performance and address why the effects of such dimensions resulted in significant changes in the performance of infrastructure service provision.

Author: PPIAF.
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821361120
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
Annotation This informative toolkit provides options for the design of policies to facilitate the delivery of good quality water and sanitation services to the poor. It highlights the need for tariffs, investment, stakeholder consultation, and regulatory policies to address the affordability and sustainability of those services.

Author: Philippe Marin
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821379577
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
'Public-Private Partnerships for Urban Water Utilities: A Review of Experiences in Developing Countries' analyzes the market growth of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the developing world since 1990, and the performance of more than 65 large water PPP projects representing more than 100 million people for access, service quality, operational efficiency, and tariff levels. Although a relatively small portion of the water utilities in the developing world are operated under PPPs (about 7 percent in 2007), the urban population served by private water operators has grown every year since 1990. Despite many difficulties encountered by PPP projects and a few contract terminations, a large majority of contracts awarded since 1990 are still in place. The track record for improving service and efficiency reaffirms the value of PPPs to help turn around poorly performing water utilities, even though the level of private financing did not match initial expectations. Over time, a more realistic market has developed, the number of private investors from developing countries has grown, and contract designs have become more pragmatic concerning risk allocations between partners. The water sector has many features that set it apart from other infrastructure sectors. This book suggests the need for careful consideration of those specificities to successfully involve private operators. Although concessions with private financing have worked in a few places, contractual arrangements that combine private operation with public financing appear to be the most sustainable option in many countries. Policy makers, stakeholders, and donors need to remain heavily engaged in the water sector, especially in the poorest countries and during a global financial crisis. This book contributes to a better understanding of the various options to tackle the many challenges of providing water and sanitation services to urban populations in the developing world.

Author: Fredrik Segerfeldt
Publisher: Cato Institute
ISBN: 9781930865761
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
This book "is an excellent argument for private management of humankind's most valuable natural resource. Its thesis is both provocative and suggestive - water is scarce in developing countries because of poor management, not because it is truly in short supply. Water policy affects the future of millions of people across the globe. Segerfeldt offers an efficient, sure, and safe alternative for this future." - back cover.

Author: Joyce Valdovinos
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000426661
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
This book examines the role played by business in urban water governance by analyzing the evolution of the global private water sector along with four public-private partnerships in Mexico and the U.S. The local nature of water services often hides the global developments behind the rise of transnational water corporations, which have gone from being local operators to becoming dynamic and powerful actors within an interconnected transnational space for water. This book focuses on the French groups Veolia and Suez, two of the most prominent private actors in global water governance, and the development and adaptation strategies of both companies in the cities of Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Atlanta, and Milwaukee over the past 30 years. Drawing on over 100 interviews conducted with corporate executives, public authorities, and local users of water services, this book moves beyond the simplistic dichotomy of the public-private debate and develops a theoretical framework that analyzes the economic and political power wielded by transnational business actors in global water governance. Not only does the book explain how Veolia and Suez strategically mobilize resources at difference scales in order to expand their global operations, but it also provides a nuanced picture of how state regulation remains of central importance to understanding the dynamics and evolution of the global water sector. Students and scholars interested in business and the environment, including public-private partnerships, business management and transnational corporations, and water governance, will find this book of great interest as will professionals and policymakers working in these fields.