Access to safe and sufficient drinking water and adequate sanitation are now recognized as basic human rights. One Millennium Development Goal is to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. However, ensuring sustainability of...

Urban water utilities are a typical case of a public service with regulated prices. This paper examines the costs of the service, which must be understood if rates are to be set and controlled on an appropriate basis. We adopt a highly practical approach. In the first place, we establish two...