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The Role of the Private Sector in Providing Water in Developing Countries
Author(s) -
ROTH GABRIEL
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
natural resources forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1477-8947
pISSN - 0165-0203
DOI - 10.1111/j.1477-8947.1985.tb01056.x
Subject(s) - developing country , scope (computer science) , natural monopoly , private sector , business , water supply , monopoly , externality , politics , water industry , economics , market economy , economic growth , political science , engineering , environmental engineering , computer science , law , microeconomics , programming language
The purpose of this article is to describe the role of the private sector in the supply of water in developing countries. In addition to citing some of the advantages to private supply, the paper discusses some of the objections to private provision, namely ‘Natural Monopoly’, ‘Externalities’, and the alleged inability to charge for water. It is concluded that the main obstacles to the private supply of water services are political rather than technical or financial, and that the French Affermage system (or variations thereon) seems to be suitable for many developing countries. There also appears to be considerable scope, in both towns and villages, for consumer co‐operatives, and for the enhancement of water vending.