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Privatisation Discontent and Utility Reform in Latin America

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  • Daniele Checchi
  • Massimo Florio
  • Jorge Carrera

Abstract

Privatisation faces strong and increasingly popular opposition in Latin America. This paper uses individual data on social attitudes, socioeconomic status and demographic information from three waves of Latinobarometro surveys (1998, 2000 and 2002) in 17 countries to study the role of privatisation of utilities and its distributional impact. We find that disagreement with privatisation is most likely when the respondent is on a low-to-middle income and when it involves a high proportion of public services such as water and electricity. This complements recent empirical research that points to distributional concerns in the implementation of privatisation in Latin America, particularly because of inadequate regulation of utilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniele Checchi & Massimo Florio & Jorge Carrera, 2009. "Privatisation Discontent and Utility Reform in Latin America," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 333-350.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:45:y:2009:i:3:p:333-350
    DOI: 10.1080/00220380802264937
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pollitt, Michael G., 2012. "The role of policy in energy transitions: Lessons from the energy liberalisation era," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 128-137.
    2. Pier Angelo MORI, 2014. "Community And Cooperation: The Evolution Of Cooperatives Towards New Models Of Citizens' Democratic Participation In Public Services Provision," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(3), pages 327-352, September.
    3. Poggi, Ambra & Florio, Massimo, 2010. "Energy deprivation dynamics and regulatory reforms in Europe: Evidence from household panel data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 253-264, January.
    4. Antonio Estache & Liam Wren-Lewis, 2009. "Toward a Theory of Regulation for Developing Countries: Following Jean-Jacques Laffont's Lead," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 729-770, September.
    5. Tankha, Sunil & Misal, Annasahed B. & Fuller, Boyd W., 2010. "Getting reforms done in inhospitable institutional environments: untying a Gordian Knot in India's power distribution sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 7121-7129, November.
    6. Mbuvi, Dorcas & Tarsim, Achraf, 2011. "Managerial ownership and urban water utilities efficiency in Uganda," MERIT Working Papers 2011-036, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    7. Massimo Florio, 2016. "Per una comparative political economy dell?impresa pubblica: alcuni contributi recenti (2013-2015)," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 5-41.
    8. Srivastava, Govind & Kathuria, Vinish, 2014. "Utility reforms in developing countries: Learning from the experiences of Delhi," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 1-16.
    9. Nicola Doni & Pier Angelo Mori, 2014. "Pricing and Price Regulation in a Costumer-Owned Monopoly," Euricse Working Papers 1470, Euricse (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises).
    10. Flores-Macías, Gustavo A., 2018. "Building support for taxation in developing countries: Experimental evidence from Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 13-24.
    11. Berg, Sanford V., 2013. "Best practices in regulating State-owned and municipal water utilities," Documentos de Proyectos 4079, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    12. Mitton, Todd, 2016. "The wealth of subnations: Geography, institutions, and within-country development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 88-111.
    13. Del Bo, Chiara D. & Ferraris, Matteo & Florio, Massimo, 2017. "Governments in the market for corporate control: Evidence from M&A deals involving state-owned enterprises," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 89-109.

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