Naren Prasad

Private sector participation in the water industry is an emotional and controversial topic. During the 1990s, policy makers were made to believe that the private sector, along with appropriate regulation, would bring additional investment, increase efficiency and expand coverage, hence solving problems of the lethargic public utilities. Yet regulation is at the infant stages in developing countries, and the results are far from desirable: over 1.1 billion people worldwide still lack access to clean water. This book demonstrates that when reforming the water sector, policy makers should put in place appropriate social policies in order to mitigate the negative impact of such reform. It does so through an in-depth analysis of the current issues from a historical perspective. It then uses a variety of country studies (Brazil, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Great Britain, France, Hungary, and Malaysia) to demonstrate how social policies are vital in increasing affordable access to water supply. This book will be of interest to policy makers, government advisors/consultants, donors, development professionals and scholars, as well as businesses and NGOs.

Increasing coverage and maintaining infrastructure are two of the biggest challenges confronting the water supply sector in both industrialized and developing countries. The last two decades have witnessed reform in this sector that has resulted in increased private sector participation (PSP), and it is now time to investigate whether such reform has managed to increase access without creating additional burdens, especially on the poor. This paper demonstrates that regulation should be complemented by social policies when reforming the water sector. It looks at seven country studies, which all show shortcomings of PSP and how social policies are crucial in addressing the issues of access and affordability. Figures, References.