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Ten Years Of Water Service Reform In Latin America
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Book Synopsis Water and Territory in Latin America by : Vladimir Arana
Download or read book Water and Territory in Latin America written by Vladimir Arana and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-05-28 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses in the current situation of water resources, water supply and sanitation, and population movement in Latin America. It identifies new phenomena and challenges that will put more pressure on water resources in the near future and that will create important socioeconomic constraints in population and their governments. This volume offers an evaluation of water resources availability and consumption, water supply and sanitation shortages, management models and population growth and territory occupation trends in eighteen Latin American countries. Also a set of recommendations, policy proposals and projects is outlined.
Book Synopsis Water for Food Security and Well-being in Latin America and the Caribbean by : Bárbara A. Willaarts
Download or read book Water for Food Security and Well-being in Latin America and the Caribbean written by Bárbara A. Willaarts and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-24 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides an analytical and facts-based overview on the progress achieved in water security in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region over during the last decade, and its links to regional development, food security and human well-being. Although the book takes a regional approach, covering a vast of data pertaining to most of the LAC region, some chapters focus on seven countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru). A full understanding of LAC’s trends progress requires framing this region in the global context: an ever more globalized world where LAC has an increasing geopolitical power and a growing presence in international food markets. The book’s specific objectives are: (1) exploring the improvements and links between water and food security in LAC countries; (2) assessing the role of the socio-economic ‘megatrends’ in LAC, identifying feedback processes between the region’s observed pattern of changes regarding key biophysical, economic and social variables linked to water and food security; and (3) reviewing the critical changes that are taking place in the institutional and governance water spheres, including the role of civil society, which may represent a promising means to advancing towards the goal of improving water security in LAC. The resulting picture shows a region where recent socioeconomic development has led to important advances in the domains of food and water security. Economic growth in LAC and its increasingly important role in international trade are intense in terms of use of natural resources such as land, water and energy. This poses new and important challenges for sustainable development. The reinforcement of national and global governance schemes and their alignment on the improvement of human well-being is and will remain an inescapable prerequisite to the achievement of long-lasting security. Supporting this bold idea with facts and science-based conclusions is the ultimate goal of the book.
Book Synopsis Reinventing Water and Wastewater Systems by : Paul Seidenstat
Download or read book Reinventing Water and Wastewater Systems written by Paul Seidenstat and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2002-07-25 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical and insightful look at the past, present, and future state of water and wastewater services In response to the worldwide water crisis foreseen by many experts, Reinventing Water and Wastewater Systems presents practical solutions for making drinking water more affordable and available, as well as strategies for improving water sanitation to satisfy the demands of a growing global population. Through extensive data and case histories, this book demonstrates the potential success of privatizing water delivery and wastewater treatment facilities. In addition, it provides examples of state-of-the-art techniques for achieving higher efficiencies in water infrastructure facilities through reengineering, improved technologies, and quality benchmarking. Contributed chapters are provided by leading global engineers and economists from such companies as the World Bank, Stone and Weber Consultants, the Atlantis Water Fund, and the Anglian Water Company. Coverage by these experts includes exploring regulatory frameworks, financing the water and wastewater infrastructure, reinventing public sector operations, analyzing the past and future of the global water industry, and examining the restructuring operations in selected U.S. cities. Reinventing Water and Wastewater Systems: Global Lessons for Improving Water Management is a constructive volume for civil engineers working in water and wastewater treatment, urban and regional planners, and environmental engineers, as well as government administrators overseeing infrastructure and water systems and financial institutions involved with underwriting major water improvement projects.
Download or read book Stepping Up written by Greg Browder and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As China transitions to a market economy, municipal utilities are evolving into commercially viable companies under government oversight. Great challenges confront the reform process for China's water utilities, including rapid urbanization and emerging inequality, coupled with severe water scarcity and degradation. Cities and their water utilities must provide services within a complex mosaic of policies and regulations provided by national and provincial governments. In China, as throughout the world, water is also a sensitive political issue. Governments are keen to provide good water service, but also attuned to the need to ensure that tariffs are socially acceptable. This report presents a strategic framework and set of recommendations for addressing these challenges and accelerating improvements in China's urban water utilities. Drawing upon the World Bank's experience in China, as well as the Bank's global knowledge, the report provides a comprehensive assessment of urban water services, including policy, regulatory, institutional, financial, and technical issues. The report will prove a valuable resource for policy makers, utility companies, and anyone interested in the development of the world's largest water market.
Book Synopsis The Latin American Casebook by : Juan F. Gonzalez-Bertomeu
Download or read book The Latin American Casebook written by Juan F. Gonzalez-Bertomeu and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-20 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traditionally relegated because of political pressure and public expectations, courts in Latin America are increasingly asserting a stronger role in public and political discussions. This casebook takes account of this phenomenon, by offering a rigorous and up-to-date discussion of constitutional adjudication in Latin America in recent decades. Bringing to the forefront the development of constitutional law by Latin American courts in various subject matters, the volume aims to highlight a host of creative arguments and solutions that judges in the region have offered. The authors review and discuss innovative case law in light of the countries’ social, political and legal context. Each chapter is devoted to a discussion of a particular area of judicial review, from freedom of expression to social and economic rights, from the internalization of human rights law to judicial checks on the economy, from gender and reproductive rights to transitional justice. The book thus provides a very useful tool to scholars, students and litigants alike.
Book Synopsis Facing the Challenges of Water Governance by : Simon Porcher
Download or read book Facing the Challenges of Water Governance written by Simon Porcher and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-19 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Access to water is one of the most pressing global issues of the twenty-first century, particularly when set against the background of a rapidly growing global population. This book provides a cutting-edge, comprehensive overview of the challenges facing water governance and regulatory choices. The recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals set forward an ambitious agenda of providing universal access to good quality water supply and sanitation services within a financially constrained environment: however, the various peculiarities of each country regarding water governance makes it difficult to identify and implement the best practices and benchmarks. Drawing together empirical studies from countries around the world, the editors and contributors combine extensive data to review the individual challenges facing each country, from the supervision of autonomous regulatory bodies to the question of centralization and the influence of local utility companies. This pioneering and practical volume will be of interest and value not only to students and scholars of water governance, but also to practitioners and regulators.
Book Synopsis Reconceptualising the Rule of Law in Global Governance, Resources, Investment and Trade by : Photini Pazartzis
Download or read book Reconceptualising the Rule of Law in Global Governance, Resources, Investment and Trade written by Photini Pazartzis and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-06-30 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The relevance and importance of the rule of law to the international legal order cannot be doubted and was recently reaffirmed by the Declaration of the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Rule of Law at the National and International Level's solemn commitment to it on behalf of states and international organizations. In this edited collection, leading scholars and practitioners from the fields of global governance, resources, investment and trade examine how the commitment to the rule of law manifests itself in the respective fields. The book looks at cutting-edge issues within each field and examines the questions arising from the interplay between them. With a clear three-part structure, it explores each area in detail and addresses contemporary challenges while trying to assure a commitment to the rule of law. The contributions also consider how the rule of law has been or should be reconceptualised. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the book will appeal to international lawyers from across the spectrum, including practitioners in the field of international investment and trade law.
Book Synopsis Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations by : Linda Gonçalves Veiga
Download or read book Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations written by Linda Gonçalves Veiga and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-08-14 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines and analyzes issues related to public finance in subnational governments, along with a discussion of case studies on decentralization. Most of the analysis applies to all public goods and services provided by subnational governments, with some placed on the role of subnational governments in the management of environmental resources, notably water and waste Coverage includes optimal arrangements for sharing fiscal responsibilities among different levels of government, the potential impact of decentralization on the quality of public goods delivery, local governments’ expenditure and revenue choices, and the effect of decentralization on accountability, governance and policy outcomes. The scope of discussion extends to both public finance theory and applied policy debates. The first chapter, on trends in financing of public services, opens with an explanation of the how and why of government intervention in the economy, the nature and purposes of transfers between and among governments and trends in decentralization. Case studies examine the impact of decentralization in such areas as service delivery, water and sanitation, education and health, and on poverty and income inequality. Chapter 2 examines public budgets: governance structures, norms and organizational practices, building up understanding of budgets, budget cycles, fiscal revenues from fees and taxes, expenses, debt and political economy issues, rules mandating balanced budgets in government and more. Chapter 3 discusses issues of accountability and policy outcomes, offering important lessons from recent international experience, including ways to strengthen political, administrative and financial accountability. The concluding chapter recounts lessons from recent international experience and surveys implications for the nexus approach to management of environmental resources. The information, analysis and expert advice presented here is particularly relevant for developing and emerging countries, where well designed decentralization reforms have a higher potential to improve efficiency in the provision of public services, and to enhance the development of integrated and sustainable strategies for the use of water, soil and waste resources and applications that advance the nexus approach.
Book Synopsis Handbook for Evaluating Infrastructure Regulatory Systems by : Ashley C. Brown
Download or read book Handbook for Evaluating Infrastructure Regulatory Systems written by Ashley C. Brown and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than 200 new infrastructure regulators have been created around the world in the last 15 years. They were established to encourage clear and sustainable long-term economic and legal commitments by governments and investors to encourage new investment to benefit existing and new customers. There is now considerable evidence that both investors and consumers-the two groups that were supposed to have benefited from these new regulatory systems-have often been disappointed with their performance. The fundamental premise of this book is that regulatory systems can be successfully reformed only if there are independent, objective and public evaluations of their performance. Just as one goes to a medical doctor for a regular health checkup, it is clear that infrastructure regulation would also benefit from periodic checkups. This book provides a general framework as well as detailed practical guidance on how to perform such "regulatory checkups."
Book Synopsis Behavioral Insights for Development by : Oscar Calvo-González
Download or read book Behavioral Insights for Development written by Oscar Calvo-González and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-10-04 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Behavioral Insights for Development: Cases from Central America brings together a set of experiences that applied behavioral insights to different areas of public policy—in some cases through randomized control trials, and in others using surveys or behavioral games. These experiences collectively show the promise of public policies that are informed by a better understanding of what drives individual behavior. In Costa Rica, for example, informing households of how much water they consume relative to their neighbors reduced water consumption (chapter 1). In Guatemala, altering the way government communicates with taxpayers increased revenue collection (chapter 2). In Nicaragua, an analysis of a cash transfer program found that children in households receiving benefits exhibited significantly higher cognitive development—a result influenced by parental behavior changes during the program (chapter 3). In El Salvador, we explore how different biases explain the apparent puzzle of a gas subsidy reform that benefited most of the population yet proved to be widely unpopular (chapter 4). Chapter 5 also uses behavioral insights to analyze subsidy reforms in El Salvador, this time using a different methodology: a set of economic behavioral games designed to evaluate the willingness of individuals to accept subsidy reforms that would affect them directly. Finally, chapter 6 reflects on the progress made in applying behavioral insights in a development context. These cases illustrate, in practice, some of the findings of the World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behavior. In particular, they demonstrate the possibility of using nontraditional tools, complementary to regulation, in contexts where time and resources are limited. The World Bank has since established a Mind, Behavior, and Development (eMBeD) Unit within the Poverty and Equity Global Practice to mainstream and scale up behavioral science in public policies and programs. We hope these experiences will help to inform other practitioners about the potential of applying behavioral insights in a development context and will encourage them to consider such approaches as a complement to traditional policy measures.
Book Synopsis Governing the Nexus by : Mathew Kurian
Download or read book Governing the Nexus written by Mathew Kurian and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-11-08 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global trends such as urbanization, demographic and climate change that are currently underway pose serious challenges to sustainable development and integrated resources management. The complex relations between demands, resource availability and quality and financial and physical constraints can be addressed by knowledge based policies and reform of professional practice. The nexus approach recognizes the urgent need for this knowledge and its interpretation in a policy- relevant setting that is guided by the understanding that there is a lack of blueprints for development based on integrated management of water, soil and waste resources in the Member States. Generation and application of knowledge is both a priority for individual but also institutional capacity development.
Book Synopsis Governing the Environment by : Albert Breton
Download or read book Governing the Environment written by Albert Breton and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume the second by this editorial team addresses many of the issues to be resolved if we are to manage environmental public goods efficiently and sustainably. What is the right scale of governance? What makes for effective public private partnership? What makes governance systems effective? When do we need supranational governance? Given the complex nature of social-ecological systems these are hard questions. Breton and his collaborators answer them in ways that are both convincing and insightful. A very valuable contribution. Charles Perrings, Arizona State University, US Environmental policy, focusing on the control of pollution and on over-exploitation, easily overlooks the extensive range of interconnections between economic activities and natural systems. In this timely book, a number of specialists examine how crucial aspects of complex environmental problems and policy can be dealt with in decentralized governmental systems. Bridging the gap between the conventional environmental federalism literature and advances in environmental and ecological economics that have been made over the last two decades, this innovative book explores alternative solutions to the problem of assigning powers over the environment. It deals with important issues in environmental governance including interjurisdictional contracting, discounting, risk management, eliciting compliance, and environmental accounting in each case concentrating on the comparative advantage of governments at different jurisdictional levels in implementing optimal policies. Offering a comprehensive approach to environmental policy, this book will be a valuable resource for researchers and students in environmental economics, environmental politics, governance and decentralization. It will also benefit practitioners and policy-makers with responsibilities over the environment.
Book Synopsis Handbook of Fiscal Federalism by : E. Ahmad
Download or read book Handbook of Fiscal Federalism written by E. Ahmad and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides comprehensive coverage of fiscal federalism by some of the leading scholars in the field. . . This Handbook is an excellent addition to the present discourse on the role of the state in fiscal matters. This reviewer would recommend this book as a required text for a graduate or senior class on public finance or economic development. Researchers in economic development, public finance, and fiscal policy likewise would find this volume useful. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. J. Raman, Choice This major Handbook addresses fiscal relations between different levels of government under the general rubric of fiscal federalism , providing a review of the latest literature as well as an invaluable guide for practitioners and policy makers seeking informed policy options. The contributors include leading lights in the field, many of whom have themselves made seminal contributions to the literature. Comprehensive and wide in coverage, the issues covered range from federal systems to other forms of intergovernmental relations, such as supra-national constructs namely, the European Union unitary states, regional systems, and more decentralized operations, including community level organizations. The political economy approach emphasizes the importance of institutional arrangements, including the legal, political and administrative aspects, and information flows to ensure that there are appropriate incentives and sanctions to generate good governance. This Handbook also devotes attention to emerging issues, such as environmental protection, the sharing of natural resources among levels of government, corruption and the impact of federalism and decentralization on national unity. It will be a vital reference tool for the area for many years to come.
Book Synopsis Alternatives to Infrastructure Privatization Revisited by : Jose A. Gomez-Ibanez
Download or read book Alternatives to Infrastructure Privatization Revisited written by Jose A. Gomez-Ibanez and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Frustration with the performance of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) has led to two rounds of reform: the first round, from the 1960s through the 1980s, attempted to improve SOE performance while maintaining public ownership while the second, beginning in the late 1980s, viewed privatization as the answer. Interest in the earlier round of reform has increased recently as controversy has slowed or halted privatization in many countries, especially for SOEs providing infrastructure services that are basic to everyday life and are thought to have elements of monopoly. This paper reexamines the earlier round of reforms, focusing particularly on efforts to increase the firms' capacity with infusions of human and physical capital, to strengthen managerial incentives through performance contracts and corporatization and to alter the mix of political and economic forces that impinge on the firm by strengthening the involvement of taxpayers, customers or private investors. The review suggests that these earlier approaches generated only modest success but that some of them, selectively applied, may be helpful in improving the performance of infrastructure firms that remain in public hands.
Book Synopsis Citizens, Politicians, and Providers by : Ariel Fiszbein
Download or read book Citizens, Politicians, and Providers written by Ariel Fiszbein and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This document aims to provide guidance to policymakers and development practitioners on how to shape public action to get better quality services for all in Latin America. Latin American countries have seen significant progress in the last 20 years in the coverage of social and infrastructure services. However, coverage gaps and poor quality of services remain a serious problem for many citizens, particularly the poor. While technical difficulties may still be a constraint for some sophisticated services, they are clearly not a difficulty for the most essential ones. Understanding questions of access and quality of services is about the behaviors of people, from teachers, to administrators, politicians, and rich and poor citizens. The main concern is whether those responsible for designing and delivering services are accountable to the citizens who are demanding the services and also paying the taxes and fees that finance these services.
Book Synopsis Globalized Water by : Graciela Schneier-Madanes
Download or read book Globalized Water written by Graciela Schneier-Madanes and published by Springer Science & Business. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Globalized Water presents a compilation of voices that forms a unique scientific exploration of contemporary water management models and governance issues. The book describes the water paradox—how a local resource has become a global product—and the implications of this in how we identify challenges and make policy in the water sector. Over the last 20 years, the foundations of local and national water systems have been rocked by a wave of changes. The authors in this book, experts in a wide range of disciplines, address the resulting debates and issues: water as a commodity and patrimony, technological rent, liberalization and privatization, the continuing evolution of water management and policy at the European level, decision making and stakeholder participation, conflict and consensus, and the inevitable growth of counterpowers at the local and international levels, promoted by the advocates of sustainable development. The selected case studies are from Europe (primarily France but also Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Portugal), Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia), the United States, Lebanon, and India. From this diverse collection of comparative perspectives and research methods, Globalized Water seeks to advance interdisciplinary research, contributing to a new and dynamic role for social sciences and governance on water.
Book Synopsis International Handbook of Network Industries by : Matthias Finger
Download or read book International Handbook of Network Industries written by Matthias Finger and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'To learn about how economic and institutional forces have shaped the network industries and policies towards them, read the first part of the book. To discover their impacts on particular industries, read the second part. And to find out what has happened in particular countries, read the third part. I think anyone interested in network industries should read all of it! The book's structure allows for many interesting comparisons across countries and sectors.' Richard Green, University of Birmingham, UK 'This is a very useful and comprehensive guide to reforms in network industries in communications, energy, transport and water. It is organized by generic topic, sector and region. Its authors are acknowledged experts. I am confident that this Handbook will be a widely read and valuable resource for many years.' Martin Cave, London School of Economics, UK 'Quite an accomplishment, this Handbook provides by far the most comprehensive overview of the role of the private sector and competition in infrastructure industries, with thoughtful surveys of each of the major infrastructure sectors and of the key regions and countries.' José Gómez-Ibáñez, Harvard University, US In recent decades, all infrastructures have undergone significant restructuring. This worldwide phenomenon is often labelled 'liberalization' and although expectations were high with respect to lower prices, greater efficiency and innovation, the expected gains have not always been fully realized. This extensive, state-of-the-art Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the various experiences of liberalization across different sectors, regions and disciplines. The multidisciplinary approach focuses on the economic, political and institutional aspects of liberalization as well as, to a lesser extent, on technological issues. As such, it constitutes a unique contribution, as this broad overview is often lost in the sector specific, country-focused and purely disciplinary approaches prevalent in the current literature. Sectors explored include telecoms, the Internet, energy and transport, whilst the truly global perspective incorporates unique case studies from an array of developed and developing countries including the US, China, India and the EU. The International Handbook of Network Industries will become the definitive volume for academics researchers and students of economics, political science and law interested in infrastructure regulation. It will also prove a valuable guide to practitioners and policy-makers involved in liberalization and competition.
