Does public or private ownership defines the performance of water supply systems? evidences from literature

Abstract

We developed a concise literature review to investigate if public or private ownership is a determinant factor on the performance of water supply systems. This is a relevant research issue because privatization and increased private sector participation in water supply systems are global trends, aimed to improve the low levels of performance and efficiency of these systems.The evidences collected in the literature shows that the ownership, itself, is not a determining factor on the performance levels of water supply systems. This finding shows that privatization can be an inefective operation to improve water supply systems performance, if other factors are not jointly considered. Regulation, competition and transparency are the main factors that define the efficiency and performance of this sector.