Honors Theses

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Croft Institute for International Studies

First Advisor

Oliver Dinius

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This thesis examines to what extent the Latin American experience suggests privatization is a promising path to deliver a reliable and affordable water supply. In order to address this question, the thesis studies whether water privatization has worked in Latin America by examining three case studies. The countries that are used for the case studies are Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The thesis is made up of five chapters. The first chapter contains general information on water as a human right and an economic good. Each case study is comprised of a chapter and focuses on five main dimensions that serve as the basis for the comparison in the last chapter. The five main dimensions are the demographic profile, the political and economic context, the approach to water privatization, the public response and the ultimate outcome. The thesis reaches a couple of different conclusions in the final chapter, which acts as a comparison chapter. The experience of Chile suggests that in wealthy countries where the majority of the population lives in urban areas, it may be best to privatize the water system to increase coverage and efficiency. The experience of Bolivia suggests that in poor countries, it may be best to keep the water system in public control because the government is able to regulate the price of water. The experience of Peru suggests that in a middle income country, it may be best to turn to partial privatization so that the water system becomes more efficient and better run but also so that the government can regulate the price of water.

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