Search results for "Public ownership"
showing 2 items of 2 documents
The role of environmental factors in water utilities' technical efficiency. Empirical evidence from Spanish companies.
2009
This article computes input-specific scores of technical efficiency for a sample of water utilities located in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. In addition, differences in efficiency between different operating environments are investigated. Concerning the debate about ownership and efficiency, we find that privately owned companies outperform public utilities in their management of labour. Furthermore, technical efficiency is found to be greater among firms located in highly populated areas and for utilities providing water services to tourist municipalities. Finally, no empirical evidence supporting the greater technical efficiency of consortia of water utilities, a managerial st…
Is the price of water for residential use related to provider ownership? Empirical evidence from Spain
2013
Abstract This paper assesses the relationship between provider ownership and the price of water for residential use set by 386 Southern Spanish municipalities. Our main contribution to the previous literature is that we go much further than merely distinguishing between private and public ownership. First, we find that prices are lower when the urban water service is directly provided by town councils. Second, when water services are contracted out to external companies, the prices set by public utilities are higher than the prices of private utilities due to larger fixed quotas. Finally, water prices are also higher when the provision of the service has been privatised to an institutionali…