IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v48y2011i13p2805-2825.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effects of Consolidation amongst Japanese Water Utilities

Author

Listed:
  • Takuya Urakami
  • David Parker

Abstract

In many parts of the world, water is supplied by very small, local undertakings. In recent years, there has been a move to consolidation of these utilities in a number of countries. This paper looks at the economic effects of consolidation of Japanese water utilities in the period 1999–2006 using translog cost functions with a hedonic output specification. The results clarify what factors have been most affected in terms of the cost structure of the water utilities after consolidation. Overall, the finding is that consolidation has had some beneficial impact on cost effectiveness, but that the result is surprisingly limited. This appears to be because cost savings from an improvement in the use of scarce water resources have been offset by extra expenditure on supplying water to areas with lower population density.

Suggested Citation

  • Takuya Urakami & David Parker, 2011. "The Effects of Consolidation amongst Japanese Water Utilities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(13), pages 2805-2825, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:48:y:2011:i:13:p:2805-2825
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098010391286
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098010391286
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0042098010391286?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nauges, Celine & van den Berg, Caroline, 2007. "How"natural"are natural monopolies in the water supply and sewerage sector ? Case studies from developing and transition economies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4137, The World Bank.
    2. Céline Nauges & Caroline Berg, 2008. "Economies of density, scale and scope in the water supply and sewerage sector: a study of four developing and transition economies," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 144-163, October.
    3. Fumitoshi Mizutani & Takuya Urakami, 2001. "articles: Identifying network density and scale economies for Japanese water supply organizations," Papers in Regional Science, Springer;Regional Science Association International, vol. 80(2), pages 211-230.
    4. Schmit, Todd M. & Boisvert, Richard N., 1997. "A Hedonic Approach To Estimating Operation And Maintenance Costs For New York Municipal Water Systems," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 26(2), pages 1-12, October.
    5. Massimo Filippini & Nevenka Hrovatin & Jelena Zorić, 2008. "Cost efficiency of Slovenian water distribution utilities: an application of stochastic frontier methods," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 169-182, April.
    6. Garcia, Serge & Moreaux, Michel & Reynaud, Arnaud, 2007. "Measuring economies of vertical integration in network industries: An application to the water sector," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 791-820, August.
    7. Colin Kirkpatrick & David Parker & Yin-Fang Zhang, 2006. "An Empirical Analysis of State and Private-Sector Provision of Water Services in Africa," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 20(1), pages 143-163.
    8. Takuya Urakami, 2007. "Economies of vertical integration in the Japanese water supply industry," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 27(2), pages 129-141, August.
    9. Breyer, Friedrich, 1987. "The specification of a hospital cost function : A comment on the recent literature," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 147-157, June.
    10. Christensen, Laurits R & Jorgenson, Dale W & Lau, Lawrence J, 1973. "Transcendental Logarithmic Production Frontiers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 55(1), pages 28-45, February.
    11. Antonioli, B. & Filippini, M., 2001. "The use of a variable cost function in the regulation of the Italian water industry," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(3-4), pages 181-187.
    12. Crain, W Mark & Zardkoohi, Asghar, 1978. "A Test of the Property-Rights Theory of the Firm: Water Utilities in the United States," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 395-408, October.
    13. David Saal & David Parker & Tom Weyman-Jones, 2007. "Determining the contribution of technical change, efficiency change and scale change to productivity growth in the privatized English and Welsh water and sewerage industry: 1985–2000," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 127-139, October.
    14. Cécile Aubert & Arnaud Reynaud, 2005. "The Impact of Regulation on Cost Efficiency: An Empirical Analysis of Wisconsin Water Utilities," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 383-409, July.
    15. Serge Garcia & Alban Thomas, 2001. "The Structure of Municipal Water Supply Costs: Application to a Panel of French Local Communities," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 5-29, July.
    16. Richard H. Spady & Ann F. Friedlaender, 1978. "Hedonic Cost Functions for the Regulated Trucking Industry," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 9(1), pages 159-179, Spring.
    17. Saal, David S & Parker, David, 2001. "Productivity and Price Performance in the Privatized Water and Sewerage Companies of England and Wales," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 61-90, July.
    18. Feigenbaum, Susan & Teeples, Ronald, 1983. "Public versus Private Water Delivery: A Hedonic Cost Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(4), pages 672-678, November.
    19. Torres, Marcelo & Morrison Paul, Catherine J., 2006. "Driving forces for consolidation or fragmentation of the US water utility industry: A cost function approach with endogenous output," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 104-120, January.
    20. Timothy J. Coelli & D.S. Prasada Rao & Christopher J. O’Donnell & George E. Battese, 2005. "An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-0-387-25895-9, January.
    21. David S Saal & David Parker, 2000. "The impact of privatization and regulation on the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales: a translog cost function model," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(6), pages 253-268.
    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. Ryota Nakatani, 2023. "Productivity drivers of infrastructure companies: Network industries utilizing economies of scale in the digital era," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(4), pages 1273-1298, December.
    2. François Destandau & Serge Garcia, 2014. "Service quality, scale economies and ownership: an econometric analysis of water supply costs," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 152-182, October.
    3. Saal David S. & Arocena Pablo & Maziotis Alexandros & Triebs Thomas, 2013. "Scale and Scope Economies and the Efficient Vertical and Horizontal Configuration of the Water Industry: A Survey of the Literature," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 93-129, March.
    4. Zschille, Michael, 2012. "Consolidating the Water Industry: An Analysis of the Potential Gains from Horizontal Integration in a Conditional Efficiency Fr," CEPR Discussion Papers 8737, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Nakatani, Ryota, 2022. "Productivity drivers of infrastructure companies: network industries to maximize economies of scale in the digital era," MPRA Paper 115531, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Klien, Michael & Michaud, David, 2019. "Water utility consolidation: Are economies of scale realized?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    7. Michael Zschille, 2014. "Marktstrukturen in der Trinkwasserversorgung," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 43, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Michael Zschille, 2016. "Cost Structure and Economies of Scale in German Water Supply," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1576, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    9. Molinos-Senante, María & Maziotis, Alexandros & Sala-Garrido, Ramón, 2020. "Changes in the total costs of the English and Welsh water and sewerage industry: The decomposed effect of price and quantity inputs on efficiency," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Graziano Abrate & Clementina Bruno & Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Anna Giolitti, 2017. "Efficiency in the Consolidation of the Italian Water Sector," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(8), pages 2447-2463, June.
    11. Michael Zschille, 2012. "Consolidating the Water Industry: An Analysis of the Potential Gains from Horizontal Integration in a Conditional Efficiency Framework," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1187, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    12. Augusto Mercadier & Walter Cont & Gustavo Ferro, 2016. "Economies of scale in Peru’s water and sanitation sector," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 215-228, April.
    13. Arocena, Pablo & Saal, David S. & Urakami, Takuya & Zschille, Michael, 2020. "Measuring and decomposing productivity change in the presence of mergers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 282(1), pages 319-333.
    14. Clementina Bruno & Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Anna Giolitti, 2014. "The efficiency effects of merging Italian water companies," ECONOMIA E DIRITTO DEL TERZIARIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(3), pages 425-442.
    15. Liu, Junqing & Fukushige, Mototsugu, 2020. "Efficiency and pricing of water supply and sewerage services in Japan," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    16. Salazar-Adams, Alejandro, 2021. "The efficiency of post-reform water utilities in Mexico," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    17. Michelle Phillips, 2013. "Inefficiency in Japanese water utility firms: a stochastic frontier approach," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 197-214, October.
    18. Michael Zschille, 2015. "Consolidating the water industry: an analysis of the potential gains from horizontal integration in a conditional efficiency framework," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 97-114, August.
    19. Urakami, Takuya & Saal, David S. & Nieswand, Maria, 2021. "Industry Fragmentation and Wastewater Efficiency: A Case Study of Hyogo Prefecture in Japan," ADBI Working Papers 1218, Asian Development Bank Institute.

    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. Abbott, Malcolm & Cohen, Bruce, 2009. "Productivity and efficiency in the water industry," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 233-244, September.
    2. Walter, Matthias & Cullmann, Astrid & von Hirschhausen, Christian & Wand, Robert & Zschille, Michael, 2009. "Quo vadis efficiency analysis of water distribution? A comparative literature review," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 225-232, September.
    3. Saal David S. & Arocena Pablo & Maziotis Alexandros & Triebs Thomas, 2013. "Scale and Scope Economies and the Efficient Vertical and Horizontal Configuration of the Water Industry: A Survey of the Literature," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 93-129, March.
    4. Carvalho, Pedro & Marques, Rui Cunha & Berg, Sanford, 2012. "A meta-regression analysis of benchmarking studies on water utilities market structure," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 40-49.
    5. Andrea Guerrini & Giulia Romano & Bettina Campedelli, 2013. "Economies of Scale, Scope, and Density in the Italian Water Sector: A Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(13), pages 4559-4578, October.
    6. François Destandau & Serge Garcia, 2014. "Service quality, scale economies and ownership: an econometric analysis of water supply costs," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 152-182, October.
    7. Malcolm Abbott & Bruce Cohen, 2010. "Industry Structure Issues in the Water and Wastewater Sectors in Australia," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 29(1), pages 48-63, March.
    8. Guerrini, Andrea & Romano, Giulia & Leardini, Chiara, 2018. "Economies of scale and density in the Italian water industry: A stochastic frontier approach," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 103-111.
    9. Miguel A. García-Rubio & Francisco González-Gómez & Jorge Guardiola, 2009. "Performance and ownership in the governance of urban water," FEG Working Paper Series 09/03, Faculty of Economics and Business (University of Granada).
    10. Angel Prieto & José L. Zofio & Inmaculada Alvarez, 2009. "Economías de escala, densidad y alcance en la provisión pública de infraestructura básica municipal," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 190(3), pages 59-94, September.
    11. Mande Buafua, Patrick, 2015. "Efficiency of urban water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do organization and regulation matter?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 13-22.
    12. Germà Bel, 2013. "Local government size and efficiency in capital-intensive services: what evidence is there of economies of scale, density and scope?," Chapters, in: Santiago Lago-Peñas & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), The Challenge of Local Government Size, chapter 6, pages 148-170, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Ferro, Gustavo & Lentini, Emilio & Mercadier, Augusto & Romero, Carlos A., 2010. "Retornos a escala en agua y saneamiento: estimaciones para América Latina [Returns to scale in water and sanitation: estimates for Latin Amercia]," MPRA Paper 20324, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jan 2010.
    14. Augusto Mercadier & Walter Cont & Gustavo Ferro, 2016. "Economies of scale in Peru’s water and sanitation sector," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 215-228, April.
    15. Reto Foellmi & Urs Meister, 2012. "Enhancing the Efficiency of Water Supply—Product Market Competition Versus Trade," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 299-324, September.
    16. Jinjin Zhao, 2020. "Productivity change in the privatized water sector in China (1999–2006)," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 227-241, April.
    17. Michael Zschille, 2012. "Consolidating the Water Industry: An Analysis of the Potential Gains from Horizontal Integration in a Conditional Efficiency Framework," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1187, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    18. Picazo-Tadeo, Andrés J. & Sáez-Fernández, Francisco J. & González-Gómez, Francisco, 2008. "Assesing Performance in the Management of the Urban Water Cycle," Efficiency Series Papers 2008/01, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    19. Liu, Junqing & Fukushige, Mototsugu, 2020. "Efficiency and pricing of water supply and sewerage services in Japan," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    20. Francisco González-Gómez & Miguel García‐Rubio & Francisco Alcalá-Olid & M. Ortega-Díaz, 2013. "Outsourcing and Efficiency in the Management of Rural Water Services," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(3), pages 731-747, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:sae:urbstu:v:48:y:2011:i:13:p:2805-2825. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    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.