Infrastructure Reform, Better Subsidies, and the Information Deficit
In developing countries the provision of water and sanitation services is often subsidized. These subsidies take the form of a general underpricing of water, numerous cross-subsidies, and inefficient billing and collection. An essential part of inf...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Viewpoint |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2000/06/692920/infrastructure-reform-better-subsidies-information-deficit http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11427 |
| Summary: | In developing countries the provision of
water and sanitation services is often subsidized. These
subsidies take the form of a general underpricing of water,
numerous cross-subsidies, and inefficient billing and
collection. An essential part of infrastructure reform is
the redesign of subsidies. In the design of an optimal
subsidy scheme the key decisions are the choice of
eligibility criteria, the level of the subsidy and the
budgetary requirements. However, the lack of consistent and
reliable data sets which combine socioeconomic and water
consumption information may be an important obstacle to
making good decisions, undermining efforts to provide
affordable water services for the poor. This Note discusses
the type of information required, where it can be found, and
ways to deal with shortcomings in the data. To illustrate,
the Note draws on data from World Bank work in Panama. |
|---|