The Buenos Aires Water Concession

Alcazar, Lorena

doi:10.1596/1813-9450-2311

Cited by 18 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For example, average tariffs in Buenos Aires were cut 27 per cent in 1993 when the private operator took control of the system. These reductions, however, were offset by increases of 13 per cent in 1994 and 27 per cent in 1997-despite low inflation over this period (Alcázar et al, 2002). 14 Second, governments often raise prices to make the contract more attractive to private operators before the start of the bidding process.…”

Section: Effect On Pricesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the complicated structure was retained after private sector participation was introduced, the private company reclassified about 11 per cent of 'residential' properties as non-residential and corrected reported property sizes for others. This resulted in fee increases for about 425 000 of the utility's 2.5 million customers (Alcázar et al, 2002).…”

Section: Effect On Pricesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, other forms of rationing might also occur. Many case studies emphasise that fiscal difficulties often made it difficult for public enterprises to invest in infrastructure for production and distribution, making it difficult for firms to expand service (Alcázar et al, 2002;Ménard and Clarke, 2002a,b). Rationing has also been a problem in other sectors.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Has private participation in water and sewerage improved coverage? Empirical evidence from Latin America

Clarke

Kosec

Wallsten

2008

J of Intl Development

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Introducing private sector participation (PSP) into the water and sewerage sectors is difficult and controversial. Empirical studies on its effects are scant and generally inconclusive. Case studies tend to find improvements following privatisation, but they suffer from selection bias and it is difficult to generalise their results. To explore empirically the effects of private sector participation 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 private sector participation as well as from similar (control) regions did not privatise. Our analysis reveals that, in general, the share of households connected to piped water and sewerage improved following the introduction of private sector participation, consistent with the case study literature. We also find, however, that the share of households connected similarly improved in the control regions, suggesting that private sector participation, per se, may not have been responsible for those improvements. Results are similar when looking only at the poorest households. The share of poor households connected to piped water and sewerage increased similarly in areas both with and without private sector participation, suggesting that-in terms of connections at least-private sector participation did not harm the poor. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Effect On Pricesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Effect On Pricesmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Has private participation in water and sewerage improved coverage? Empirical evidence from Latin America

Clarke

Kosec

Wallsten

2008

J of Intl Development

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“…During contract renegotiation either the company or the government could be the loser, depending upon the results of the renegotiation. Guasch (1999) concludes that 55 per cent of water concession contracts in Latin America were renegotiated significantly within a few years of being signed -in Buenos Aires prices were raised within months of the start of the water concession (Alcazar et al, 2000). Studying cancelled concession contracts in developing countries, find that water and sewerage concessions have the second highest incidence of cancellation after toll roads.…”

Section: Existing Empirical Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Domestic Regulation and the WTO: The Case of Water Services in Developing Countries

Kirkpatrick

Parker

2005

World Economy

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Trade liberalisation of environmental services, and water services in particular, under the current WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), has been widely advocated as a means of increasing private sector participation in the water sector in developing countries. Recognising that effective regulation is needed to ensure that the potential gains from private sector involvement are fully realised, the paper considers the relationship between national regulatory autonomy and GATS liberalisation in water services. The empirical evidence on the impact of private sector involvement in the provision of water services in developing countries is reviewed, and a number of reasons why water privatisation has been problematic in lower-income countries are identified, including transaction costs and regulatory weaknesses. The study concludes that developing countries with limited regulatory resources should adopt a cautious approach to services liberalisation, by sequencing market liberalisation measures to match the development of their regulatory institutional capacity. Copyright 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd..

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“…The net result was that bills for already connected customers increased by 19%. In 1998, Aguas Argentinas asked for a further increase of 11.7% in the tariff, but this time it met very strong opposition from the regulator and the increase was only partially granted (Alcázar et al, 1999). In the last few years, Aguas Argentinas has struggled with the growing impoverishment of its customer base and the related problems of bill collection.…”

Section: Argentinamentioning

confidence: 99%

Universal access to water and sanitation: Why the private sector must participate

Lee¹,

Floris²

2003

Natural Resources Forum

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Against the background of the current state of provision of drinking water and sanitation in the world -with one billion lacking safe water, and 2.2 billion not having adequate sanitation -this article argues that private participation is necessary. The most important issues for the management of water utilities in the 21 st century are identified as mobilizing investment for the highly capital intensive operation of water supply and sanitation infrastructure, and achieving efficiency in the delivery of services. The article highlights the issues that need to be raised if private investment is to be seriously considered as an alternative. Case studies, especially from Latin America (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia), illustrate different modes of private participation, and possible reasons for successes and failures are discussed.The article stresses that regardless of the modality of private sector involvement, on-going government regulatory responsibility in the water sector is crucial. It suggests that regulatory policy must go beyond just setting tariffs, to develop standards for drinking water quality and waste treatment, as well as other standards. In conclusion, the article recognizes that numerous and increasingly difficult challenges face utilities in fulfilling their responsibility to deliver drinking water of adequate quality, in sufficient quantity, and at affordable prices, as well as safe and sustainable disposal of wastewaters for members of urban and rural communities.

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The Buenos Aires Water Concession

Cited by 18 publications

References 11 publications

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

Domestic Regulation and the WTO: The Case of Water Services in Developing Countries

Universal access to water and sanitation: Why the private sector must participate

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