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Can Informal Water Vendors Deliver on the Promise of A Human Right to Water? Results From Cochabamba, Bolivia

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  • Wutich, Amber
  • Beresford, Melissa
  • Carvajal, Cinthia

Abstract

We examine the role of informal water vendors in the urban poor’s efforts to secure safe and affordable water in the squatter settlements of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Using an economic justice framework, we evaluate (1) how informal water markets operate, (2) differences in client and vendor perceptions of distributive, procedural, and interactional (in)justice, and (3) how cooperation among water vendors impedes or assists in achieving justice in water delivery. The research includes a comparative institutional analysis of three key data sets: long-term participant-observation in water-scarce squatter settlements; interviews with 12 water vendors; and interviews with 41 clients from 23 squatter settlements. We find that informal water vendors organize themselves to safeguard distributive justice (e.g., fair pricing, good water quality), but clients are distressed by procedural and interactional injustices (e.g., unreliable and inequitable service). Our research also shows that unionized vendors are more effective than non-unionized vendors in creating and enforcing rules that advance distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. We make concrete recommendations for improving justice in informal water markets, including a larger role for unions and community consultation. We conclude that, despite challenges, the informal economy may play an important role in advancing the human right to water.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:79:y:2016:i:c:p:14-24
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.10.043
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    Cited by:

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    2. Georg Meran & Markus Siehlow & Christian von Hirschhausen, 2021. "Pipes, Taps, and Vendors: An Integrated Water Management Approach," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(04), pages 1-29, October.
    3. Batsirai Majuru & Marc Suhrcke & Paul R. Hunter, 2016. "How Do Households Respond to Unreliable Water Supplies? A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Beresford, Melissa & Brewis, Alexandra & Choudhary, Neetu & Drew, Georgina & Garcia, Nataly Escobedo & Garrick, Dustin & Hossain, Mohammed Jobayer & Lopez, Ernesto & Nébié, Elisabeth Ilboudo & Pacheco, 2023. "Justice and Moral Economies in Modular, Adaptive, and Decentralized (MAD) Water Systems," SocArXiv 6ywp7, Center for Open Science.
    5. Brewis, Alexandra & Choudhary, Neetu & Wutich, Amber, 2019. "Household water insecurity may influence common mental disorders directly and indirectly through multiple pathways: Evidence from Haiti," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Meran, Georg & Siehlow, Markus & von Hirschhausen, Christian, 2018. "Pipes, Taps and Vendors: Managing and Regulating the Unconnected Water Market," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181584, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Heinrich Zozmann & Alexander Morgan & Christian Klassert & Bernd Klauer & Erik Gawel, 2022. "Can Tanker Water Services Contribute to Sustainable Access to Water? A Systematic Review of Case Studies in Urban Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-27, September.
    8. Joseph Kangmennaang & Elijah Bisung & Susan J. Elliott, 2020. "‘We Are Drinking Diseases’: Perception of Water Insecurity and Emotional Distress in Urban Slums in Accra, Ghana," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-17, January.
    9. 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.
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