A PRIVATIZAÇÃO BENEFICIA OS POBRES? OS EFEITOS DA DESESTATIZAÇÃO DO SANEAMENTO BÁSICO NA MORTALIDADE INFANTIL

This paper aims to measure, using a difference-in-differences estimator, the impacts of the privatization of water and sewage services on child mortality in municipalities in the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states. We obtain evidence that privatization is associated with a significant decrease in child mortality. This result is corroborated by the fact that private ownership impacts only child deaths caused by infectious and parasitic deceases. We also analyze the channels through which privatization affects child mortality, and evidence that increases in quality, but not in access to services, is positively affected by private ownership.