Water for All: How To Combine Public Management with Commercial Practice for the Benefit of the Poor?

Alan Gilbert
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Alan Gilbert: Department of Geography, Pearson Building, University College London, Gower Street, London, WCIE 6BT, UK, ucfaagg@ucl.ac.uk

Urban Studies, 2007, vol. 44, issue 8, 1559-1579

Abstract: Water is critical to improving the health and welfare of the expanding urban populations of the South. Unfortunately, few cities in poor countries have managed to develop institutions able to supply the poor with water, let alone take away the waste. One city that has managed to do so is Bogota, Colombia. The results of this public company are impressive and have been achieved by adopting some elements of neo-liberal economic thought and by maintaining independence from political pressure. Recently, however, the water company's operations, and particularly its efficiency and pricing policy, have come under attack from a new left-of-centre mayor. The paper explores the legitimacy of some of the attacks and examines whether they constitute fair political debate or a means of undermining what, by the standards of the South, is an effective company.

Date: 2007
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:44:y:2007:i:8:p:1559-1579

DOI: 10.1080/00420980701373461

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