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Does Society Win or Lose as a Result of Privatization? The Case of Water Sector Privatization in Colombia

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  • FELIPE BARRERA‐OSORIO
  • MAURICIO OLIVERA
  • CARLOS OSPINO

Abstract

This paper evaluates the impact of water sector privatization in Colombia on access, price and water quality, as well as health outcomes using differences‐in‐differences methodology. The main findings of the impact of water privatization are: (i) an improvement in the quality of water and an increase in the frequency of the service in privatized urban municipalities for the lower quintiles; (ii) a positive effect on health outcomes in both urban and rural areas; (iii) a negative effect on payment for the lower quintiles; and (iv) strong negative effects on access to water in rural areas. Some of these effects appear in municipalities with better technical capacity.

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  • Felipe Barrera‐Osorio & Mauricio Olivera & Carlos Ospino, 2009. "Does Society Win or Lose as a Result of Privatization? The Case of Water Sector Privatization in Colombia," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 76(304), pages 649-674, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:econom:v:76:y:2009:i:304:p:649-674
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2008.00731.x
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    2. Kosec, Katrina, 2014. "The child health implications of privatizing africa's urban water supply," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 1-19.
    3. Claudia Marcela Granados Vergara, 2008. "¿Contribuyen las reformas al progreso social?, el caso de los servicios de acueducto y alcantarillado y la mortalidad infantil en Colombia 1990-2004," Documentos CEDE 4738, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    4. Fernando Borraz, 2011. "Water nationalization: network access, quality, and health outcomes," Working Papers 201126, Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Economics Program, revised 2011.
    5. Arthur Dassan & Joelson Oliveira Sampaio & Vinicius Augusto Brunassi Silva & Rodrigo De-Losso, 2021. "Private Means Better? A Water and Sanitation Quasi-experimental Design," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2021_22, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    6. Panu Poutvaara & Henrik Jordahl, 2020. "Public sector outsourcing," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-65, November.
    7. Godwin K. Vondolia & Francis Mensah Asenso-Boadi, 2016. "Private Sector Participation in the Provision of Quality Drinking Water in Urban Areas of Ghana: What Do Households Want and Can Afford?," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 84(2), pages 245-259, June.
    8. Diana Oliveros & Mauricio Mendoza, 2013. "¿Es la privatización la solución a los problemas de ineficiencia de las empresas públicas?: Revisión de la literatura," Revista Lebret, Universidad Santo Tomás - Bucaramanga, December.
    9. Fernando Borraz & Nicolás González Pampillón & Marcelo Olarreaga, 2013. "Water Nationalization and Service Quality," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 27(3), pages 389-412.
    10. Kosec, Katrina, 2013. "The child health implications of privatizing Africa’s urban water supply:," IFPRI discussion papers 1269, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Marta Suárez-Varela & María los Ángeles García-Valiñas & Francisco González-Gómez & Andrés J Picazo-Tadeo, 2017. "Ownership and Performance in Water Services Revisited: Does Private Management Really Outperform Public?," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(8), pages 2355-2373, June.
    12. Calzada, Joan & Iranzo Sancho, Susana, 2012. "Neither Private nor Public: The Effects of Communal Provision of Water on Child Health in Peru," Working Papers 2072/196649, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    13. Fabio Sánchez Torres & Irina España E., 2012. "Urbanización, Desarrollo Económico y Pobreza en el Sistema de Ciudades Colombianas 1951-2005," Documentos CEDE 9821, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    14. Fabio Sánchez Torres & Alexander Vega Carvajal, 2014. "Cobertura de Acueducto y Alcantarillado, Calidad del Agua y Mortalidad Infantil en Colombia, 2000-2012," Documentos CEDE 12228, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.

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