Does Infrastructure Reform Work for the Poor? A Case Study on the Cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia
From 1994 onward, Bolivia undertook a major reform of its infrastructure sectors. The authors examine the impact of the reforms from the perspective of poor households in the adjacent cities of La Paz and El Alto, particularly in terms of access to...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/12/2872956/infrastructure-reform-work-poor-case-study-cities-la-paz-el-alto-bolivia http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17432 |
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okr-10986-174322021-04-23T14:03:37Z Does Infrastructure Reform Work for the Poor? A Case Study on the Cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia Vivien Foster Osvaldo Irusta ACCESS TO SERVICES ACCESS TO WATER ACCOUNTING COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION CONCESSION AREA CONCESSION CONTRACT CONCESSION CONTRACTS CONNECTION CHARGE CONNECTION CHARGES CONNECTION FEE CONNECTION TARGETS CONNECTIONS POLICY COST SAVINGS CUBIC METERS CUBIC METERS PER MONTH DISTRIBUTION NETWORK ELECTRICITY FIXED CHARGE FIXED CHARGES HOUSEHOLD CONNECTION HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS HOUSEHOLDS ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS LEVIES LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS MONTHLY FIXED CHARGE MUNICIPAL COMPANY PM POOR URBAN HOUSEHOLDS PRIVATE OPERATOR PRIVATE OPERATORS PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION PUBLIC STANDPIPES QUALITY OF SERVICE REGULATORY AGENCY REGULATORY FRAMEWORK SANITATION SANITATION PROGRAM SANITATION SERVICES SERVICE CONNECTIONS SERVICE PROVIDERS SERVICE PROVISION SEWERAGE SEWERAGE CONNECTIONS SEWERAGE SECTOR SEWERAGE SERVICE SEWERAGE SERVICES SEWERAGE SYSTEMS TARIFF POLICIES TARIFF STRUCTURE TELECOMMUNICATIONS TYPE OF CONNECTION URBAN AREA URBAN AREAS URBANIZATION UTILITIES UTILITY SERVICES WATER CONNECTIONS WATER CONSUMPTION WATER COVERAGE WATER SECTOR WATER SERVICE WATER SERVICES WATER TARIFFS WATER UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE ACCESSIBLE SERVICES LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS SERVICES DELIVERY TELECOMMUNICATIONS CELLULAR MOBILE PHONES MEMBERSHIP COVERAGE TELEPHONE LINES SANITATION SERVICES From 1994 onward, Bolivia undertook a major reform of its infrastructure sectors. The authors examine the impact of the reforms from the perspective of poor households in the adjacent cities of La Paz and El Alto, particularly in terms of access to services. Different policies adopted across the infrastructure sectors led to diverging outcomes. In the water and sewerage sector, the concessionaire was placed under legal obligation to meet connection targets in low income neighborhoods, while customers were given the facility to spread payment of connection charges over a two year period and opt for a lower cost "condominial connection." As a result the rate of expansion of services increased by 70 percent relative to the pre-reform period. In the telecommunications sector, fixed and cellular services tell very different stories. On the one hand, fixed line services remained inaccessible to the poor due to the membership fee of US$1,500 charged by the cooperative, or the alternative nonmember option of paying a US$23 monthly rental fee. On the other hand, cellular coverage increased tenfold from 1996-99 as the advent of competition led to huge reductions both in connection and calling charges, while the introduction of prepayment cards greatly facilitated the control of expenditure The expansion that took place did not bypass the poor. While first quintile households saw barely any improvement in access to utility services in the period leading up to the 1994 reforms, in the five years that followed coverage rates for these households rose by more than 20 percentage points for water and sewerage, and more than 10 percentage points for electricity and telephones. Overall, 80 percent of new water and sewerage connections and 65 percent of new electricity and telephone connections went to residents in the poorest neighborhoods of La Paz and El Alto. 2014-03-27T20:12:02Z 2014-03-27T20:12:02Z 2003-12 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/12/2872956/infrastructure-reform-work-poor-case-study-cities-la-paz-el-alto-bolivia http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17432 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 3177 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Latin America & Caribbean Bolivia |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
ACCESS TO SERVICES ACCESS TO WATER ACCOUNTING COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION CONCESSION AREA CONCESSION CONTRACT CONCESSION CONTRACTS CONNECTION CHARGE CONNECTION CHARGES CONNECTION FEE CONNECTION TARGETS CONNECTIONS POLICY COST SAVINGS CUBIC METERS CUBIC METERS PER MONTH DISTRIBUTION NETWORK ELECTRICITY FIXED CHARGE FIXED CHARGES HOUSEHOLD CONNECTION HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS HOUSEHOLDS ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS LEVIES LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS MONTHLY FIXED CHARGE MUNICIPAL COMPANY PM POOR URBAN HOUSEHOLDS PRIVATE OPERATOR PRIVATE OPERATORS PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION PUBLIC STANDPIPES QUALITY OF SERVICE REGULATORY AGENCY REGULATORY FRAMEWORK SANITATION SANITATION PROGRAM SANITATION SERVICES SERVICE CONNECTIONS SERVICE PROVIDERS SERVICE PROVISION SEWERAGE SEWERAGE CONNECTIONS SEWERAGE SECTOR SEWERAGE SERVICE SEWERAGE SERVICES SEWERAGE SYSTEMS TARIFF POLICIES TARIFF STRUCTURE TELECOMMUNICATIONS TYPE OF CONNECTION URBAN AREA URBAN AREAS URBANIZATION UTILITIES UTILITY SERVICES WATER CONNECTIONS WATER CONSUMPTION WATER COVERAGE WATER SECTOR WATER SERVICE WATER SERVICES WATER TARIFFS WATER UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE ACCESSIBLE SERVICES LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS SERVICES DELIVERY TELECOMMUNICATIONS CELLULAR MOBILE PHONES MEMBERSHIP COVERAGE TELEPHONE LINES SANITATION SERVICES |
| spellingShingle |
ACCESS TO SERVICES ACCESS TO WATER ACCOUNTING COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION CONCESSION AREA CONCESSION CONTRACT CONCESSION CONTRACTS CONNECTION CHARGE CONNECTION CHARGES CONNECTION FEE CONNECTION TARGETS CONNECTIONS POLICY COST SAVINGS CUBIC METERS CUBIC METERS PER MONTH DISTRIBUTION NETWORK ELECTRICITY FIXED CHARGE FIXED CHARGES HOUSEHOLD CONNECTION HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS HOUSEHOLDS ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS LEVIES LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS MONTHLY FIXED CHARGE MUNICIPAL COMPANY PM POOR URBAN HOUSEHOLDS PRIVATE OPERATOR PRIVATE OPERATORS PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION PUBLIC STANDPIPES QUALITY OF SERVICE REGULATORY AGENCY REGULATORY FRAMEWORK SANITATION SANITATION PROGRAM SANITATION SERVICES SERVICE CONNECTIONS SERVICE PROVIDERS SERVICE PROVISION SEWERAGE SEWERAGE CONNECTIONS SEWERAGE SECTOR SEWERAGE SERVICE SEWERAGE SERVICES SEWERAGE SYSTEMS TARIFF POLICIES TARIFF STRUCTURE TELECOMMUNICATIONS TYPE OF CONNECTION URBAN AREA URBAN AREAS URBANIZATION UTILITIES UTILITY SERVICES WATER CONNECTIONS WATER CONSUMPTION WATER COVERAGE WATER SECTOR WATER SERVICE WATER SERVICES WATER TARIFFS WATER UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE ACCESSIBLE SERVICES LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS SERVICES DELIVERY TELECOMMUNICATIONS CELLULAR MOBILE PHONES MEMBERSHIP COVERAGE TELEPHONE LINES SANITATION SERVICES Vivien Foster Osvaldo Irusta Does Infrastructure Reform Work for the Poor? A Case Study on the Cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia |
| geographic_facet |
Latin America & Caribbean Bolivia |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 3177 |
| description |
From 1994 onward, Bolivia undertook a
major reform of its infrastructure sectors. The authors
examine the impact of the reforms from the perspective of
poor households in the adjacent cities of La Paz and El
Alto, particularly in terms of access to services. Different
policies adopted across the infrastructure sectors led to
diverging outcomes. In the water and sewerage sector, the
concessionaire was placed under legal obligation to meet
connection targets in low income neighborhoods, while
customers were given the facility to spread payment of
connection charges over a two year period and opt for a
lower cost "condominial connection." As a result
the rate of expansion of services increased by 70 percent
relative to the pre-reform period. In the telecommunications
sector, fixed and cellular services tell very different
stories. On the one hand, fixed line services remained
inaccessible to the poor due to the membership fee of
US$1,500 charged by the cooperative, or the alternative
nonmember option of paying a US$23 monthly rental fee. On
the other hand, cellular coverage increased tenfold from
1996-99 as the advent of competition led to huge reductions
both in connection and calling charges, while the
introduction of prepayment cards greatly facilitated the
control of expenditure The expansion that took place did not
bypass the poor. While first quintile households saw barely
any improvement in access to utility services in the period
leading up to the 1994 reforms, in the five years that
followed coverage rates for these households rose by more
than 20 percentage points for water and sewerage, and more
than 10 percentage points for electricity and telephones.
Overall, 80 percent of new water and sewerage connections
and 65 percent of new electricity and telephone connections
went to residents in the poorest neighborhoods of La Paz and
El Alto. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Vivien Foster Osvaldo Irusta |
| author_facet |
Vivien Foster Osvaldo Irusta |
| author_sort |
Vivien Foster |
| title |
Does Infrastructure Reform Work for the Poor? A Case Study on the Cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia |
| title_short |
Does Infrastructure Reform Work for the Poor? A Case Study on the Cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia |
| title_full |
Does Infrastructure Reform Work for the Poor? A Case Study on the Cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia |
| title_fullStr |
Does Infrastructure Reform Work for the Poor? A Case Study on the Cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Does Infrastructure Reform Work for the Poor? A Case Study on the Cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia |
| title_sort |
does infrastructure reform work for the poor? a case study on the cities of la paz and el alto in bolivia |
| publisher |
World |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/12/2872956/infrastructure-reform-work-poor-case-study-cities-la-paz-el-alto-bolivia http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17432 |
| _version_ |
1764437030785253376 |