Title: Universal(ly Bad) Service: Providing Infrastructure Services to Rural and Poor Urban Consumers
Abstract: No AccessPolicy Research Working Papers21 Jun 2013Universal(ly Bad) Service: Providing Infrastructure Services to Rural and Poor Urban ConsumersAuthors/Editors: Scott Wallsten, George ClarkeScott Wallsten, George Clarkehttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-2868SectionsAboutPDF (1.1 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:Until recently, utility services (telecommunications, power, water, and gas) throughout the world were provided by large, usually state-owned, monopolies. However, encouraged by technological change, regulatory innovation, and pressure from international organizations, many developing countries are privatizing state-owned companies and introducing competition. Some observers worry that even if reforms improve efficiency, they might compromise an important public policy goal—ensuring "universal access" for low-income and rural households. Clarke and Wallsten review the motivation for universal service, methods used to try to achieve it under monopoly service provision, how reforms might affect these approaches, and the theoretical and empirical evidence of the impact of reform on these consumers. Next, using household data from around the world, they investigate empirically the historical performance of public monopolies in meeting universal service obligations and the impact of reform. The results show the massive failure of state monopolies to provide service to poor and rural households everywhere except Eastern Europe. Moreover, while the data are limited, the evidence suggests that reforms have not harmed poor and rural consumers, and in many cases have improved their access to utility services. Nevertheless, because competition undermines traditional methods of funding universal service objectives (cross-subsidies), the authors also review mechanisms that could finance these objectives without compromising the benefits of reforms. This paper—a product of Regulation and Competition Policy, Development Research Group—is a background paper for the Policy Research Report on The Regulation of Infrastructure. The authors may be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected] Previous bookNext book FiguresReferencesRecommendedDetailsCited ByConfigurational Analysis of Access to Basic Infrastructure Services: Evidence from Turkish ProvincesThe European Journal of Development Research, Vol.31, No.54 April 2019Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol.81One for all and all for one: privatization and Universal Service provision in the postal sectorApplied Economics, Vol.45, No.26Recovery Risk and Labor Costs in Public–Private Partnerships: Contractual Choice in the US Water IndustryLocal Government Studies, Vol.39, No.3Identifying public‐private partnership (PPP) risks in managing water supply projects in GhanaJournal of Facilities Management, Vol.11, No.2THE EFFECT OF ACCESS TO IMPROVED WATER SOURCES AND SANITATION ON ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY: THE CASE OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIESSouth African Journal of Economics, Vol.80, No.218 June 2012Regulating water services for the poor: The case of AmmanGeoforum, Vol.40, No.3'Standpipes and beyond'-a universal water service dynamicJournal of International Development, Vol.5Pricing China's irrigation waterGlobal Environmental Change, Vol.18, No.4Infrastructures et développement : une revue des débats récents et à venirRevue d'économie du développement, Vol.Vol. 15, No.4Universal telecommunication service: A world perspectiveInformation Economics and Policy, Vol.17, No.4Macroeconomic shocks and regulatory dilemmas: The affordability and sustainability constraints and the Argentine default experienceThe Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Vol.45, No.2-3 View Published: July 2002 Copyright & Permissions Related RegionsAfricaLatin America & CaribbeanRelated CountriesCzech RepublicUnited StatesRelated TopicsCommunities & Human SettlementsFinance and Financial Sector DevelopmentMacroeconomics and Economic GrowthPoverty ReductionPrivate Sector DevelopmentRural DevelopmentWater Supply and Sanitation KeywordsBENEFITSCOMPETITIONCOMPETITION POLICYCONSUMERSCOSTSDEVELOPMENTDEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESEXTERNALITIESGOODSINCOMEINCOME LEVELSMONOPOLIESMONOPOLYPRICESPROFITSSUBSIDIESTELECOMMUNICATIONSTHEORYTRENDSUTILITY PDF DownloadLoading ...