IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juipol/v48y2017icp22-31.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Water for the urban poor: Balancing financial and social objectives through service differentiation in the Kenyan water sector

Author

Listed:
  • Schwartz, Klaas
  • Tutusaus, Mireia
  • Savelli, Elisa

Abstract

Kenyan water utilities face a challenge of balancing the financial objective of commercial viability with the social objective of service expansion. To achieve this, they employ service differentiation in which different categories of consumers receive different levels of service. Although service differentiation has achieved results, it reflects a prioritization of financial objectives over social objectives and raises three particular concerns. First, service differentiation reflects a withdrawal of the utility from core service provision responsibilities. Second, it results in inequitable service provision. Finally, it may lock low-income consumers into a low level of service.

Suggested Citation

  • Schwartz, Klaas & Tutusaus, Mireia & Savelli, Elisa, 2017. "Water for the urban poor: Balancing financial and social objectives through service differentiation in the Kenyan water sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 22-31.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:48:y:2017:i:c:p:22-31
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2017.08.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957178717300048
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jup.2017.08.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laila Smith & Susan Hanson, 2003. "Access to Water for the Urban Poor in Cape Town: Where Equity Meets Cost Recovery," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 40(8), pages 1517-1548, July.
    2. Jackie Dugard, 2010. "Can Human Rights Transcend the Commercialization of Water in South Africa? Soweto’s Legal Fight for an Equitable Water Policy," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 42(2), pages 175-194, June.
    3. Gourisankar Ghosh, 2012. "Some for All Rather Than More for Some: A Myth or a Reality?," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(2), pages 10-12, March.
    4. Alan Nicol & Lyla Mehta & Jeremy Allouche, 2012. "Introduction: ‘Some for All Rather than More for Some’? Contested Pathways and Politics since the 1990 New Delhi Statement," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(2), pages 1-9, March.
    5. Berg, Sanford V & Mugisha, Silver, 2010. "Pro-poor water service strategies in developing countries: promoting justice in Uganda’s urban project," MPRA Paper 32888, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Rothstein, Mitchell G. & McLarnon, Matthew J. W. & King, Gillian, 2016. "The Role of Self-Regulation in Workplace Resiliency," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 416-421, June.
    7. Schwartz, Klaas, 2008. "The New Public Management: The future for reforms in the African water supply and sanitation sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 49-58, March.
    8. Karen Bakker, 2002. "From State to Market?: Water Mercantilización in Spain," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(5), pages 767-790, May.
    9. Mehta, Lyla, 2014. "Water and Human Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 59-69.
    10. Marson, Marta & Savin, Ivan, 2015. "Ensuring Sustainable Access to Drinking Water in Sub Saharan Africa: Conflict Between Financial and Social Objectives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 26-39.
    11. Oecd, 2016. "National legislative and regulatory activities," Nuclear Law Bulletin, OECD Publishing, vol. 2015(2), pages 79-95.
    12. Alan Gilbert, 2007. "Water for All: How To Combine Public Management with Commercial Practice for the Benefit of the Poor?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(8), pages 1559-1579, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Akosua Sarpong Boakye-Ansah & Klaas Schwartz & Margreet Zwarteveen, 2019. "From Rowdy Cartels to Organized Ones? The Transfer of Power in Urban Water Supply in Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(5), pages 1246-1262, December.
    2. Boakye-Ansah, Akosua Sarpong & Schwartz, Klaas & Zwarteveen, Margreet, 2020. "Aligning stakeholder interests: How ‘appropriate’ technologies have become the accepted water infrastructure solutions for low-income areas," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Christine Mawia Julius & Timothy C. Okech, 2021. "Moderation Effect of Government Regulation on the Joint Influence of Water Pricing, Infrastructure Financing, Utility Efficiency and Subsidies on Financial Sustainability of Water Service Providers in," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 11(3), pages 72-80.
    4. Nilsson, David & Blomkvist, Pär, 2021. "Is the self-read water meter a pro-poor innovation? Evidence from a low-income settlement in Nairobi," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Blomkvist, Pär & Nilsson, David & Juma, Benard & Sitoki, Lewis, 2020. "Bridging the critical interface: Ambidextrous innovation for water provision in Nairobi's informal settlements," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wadhawan, Siddharth R. & Pearce, Joshua M., 2017. "Power and energy potential of mass-scale photovoltaic noise barrier deployment: A case study for the U.S," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 125-132.
    2. Yates, Julian S. & Harris, Leila M., 2018. "Hybrid regulatory landscapes: The human right to water, variegated neoliberal water governance, and policy transfer in Cape Town, South Africa, and Accra, Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 75-87.
    3. Marson, Marta & Savin, Ivan, 2015. "Ensuring Sustainable Access to Drinking Water in Sub Saharan Africa: Conflict Between Financial and Social Objectives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 26-39.
    4. Jeanie Bukowski, 2017. "A “new water culture†on the Iberian Peninsula? Evaluating epistemic community impact on water resources management policy," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(2), pages 239-264, March.
    5. Geoff Goodwin, 2018. "Water, Infrastructure and Power: Contention and Resistance in Post‐colonial Cities of the South," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(6), pages 1616-1630, November.
    6. Priscila Neves-Silva & Juliana Aurora de Oliveira Lopes & Léo Heller, 2020. "The right to water: Impact on the quality of life of rural workers in a settlement of the Landless Workers Movement, Brazil," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, July.
    7. Weststrate, Johanna & Gianoli, Alberto & Eshuis, Jasper & Dijkstra, Geske & Cossa, Idrisse Jorge & Rusca, Maria, 2019. "The regulation of onsite sanitation in Maputo, Mozambique," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    8. Korzenevica, Marina & Fallon Grasham, Catherine & Johnson, Zoé & Gebreegzabher, Amleset & Mebrahtu, Samrawit & Zerihun, Zenawi & Ferdous Hoque, Sonia & Charles, Katrina Jane, 2022. "Negotiating spaces of marginality and independence: On women entrepreneurs within Ethiopian urbanization and water precarity," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    9. Cieslik, Katarzyna, 2016. "Moral Economy Meets Social Enterprise Community-Based Green Energy Project in Rural Burundi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 12-26.
    10. Norbert Brunner & Vijay Mishra & Ponnusamy Sakthivel & Markus Starkl & Christof Tschohl, 2015. "The Human Right to Water in Law and Implementation," Laws, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-59, August.
    11. Camos Daurella,Daniel & Estache,Antonio, 2017. "Regulating water and sanitation network services accounting for institutional and informational constraints," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8149, The World Bank.
    12. Akosua Sarpong Boakye-Ansah & Klaas Schwartz & Margreet Zwarteveen, 2019. "From Rowdy Cartels to Organized Ones? The Transfer of Power in Urban Water Supply in Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(5), pages 1246-1262, December.
    13. Olivia Jensen & Namrata Chindarkar, 2019. "Sustaining Reforms in Water Service Delivery: the Role of Service Quality, Salience, Trust and Financial Viability," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(3), pages 975-992, February.
    14. Tommaso Palermo & Michael Power & Simon Ashby, 2017. "Navigating Institutional Complexity: The Production of Risk Culture in the Financial Sector," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 154-181, March.
    15. Solis, Miriam & Bashar, Samira Binte, 2022. "Social equity implications of advanced water metering infrastructure," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    16. Carlitz, Ruth D., 2017. "Money Flows, Water Trickles: Understanding Patterns of Decentralized Water Provision in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 16-30.
    17. Dickin, Sarah & Bisung, Elijah & Nansi, Juste & Charles, Katrina, 2021. "Empowerment in water, sanitation and hygiene index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    18. Marjolein C. J. Caniëls & Simone M. J. Baaten, 2019. "How a Learning-Oriented Organizational Climate is Linked to Different Proactive Behaviors: The Role of Employee Resilience," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 561-577, June.
    19. Wutich, Amber & Beresford, Melissa & Carvajal, Cinthia, 2016. "Can Informal Water Vendors Deliver on the Promise of A Human Right to Water? Results From Cochabamba, Bolivia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 14-24.
    20. Cook, Joseph & Whittington, Dale & Fuente , David & Matichich, Michael, 2019. "A Global Assessment of Non-Tariff Customer Assistance Programs in Water Supply and Sanitation," EfD Discussion Paper 19-4, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:48:y:2017:i:c:p:22-31. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/utilities-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.