This paper exploits unique features of a recently introduced tariff schedule for natural gas in Buenos Aires to estimate the short-run impact of price shocks on residential energy utilization. The schedule induces a non-linear and non-monotonic relationship between households' accumulated...

While privatization of water, electricity, transport and communications infrastructure continues to gain momentum in Latin America, its success often depends on whether countries implement the reforms essential to attract private investment. This book analyzes the legal, regulatory, economic and...

Power sector reforms across Latin America in the 1990s based on privatization, liberalization, and market forces were largely unavoidable. This book argues that while there is no turning back from this process, many reforms may not prove sustainable without further efforts to build a stronger...

During the last decade, Latin American countries have brought about important reforms in infrastructure services based both on private sector participation for enhancing internal efficiency and competition for increasing consumer welfare. Infrastructure services have evolved from monopoly and...

This book provides a detailed microeconomic analysis of the impact of various privatizations in different countries in the region. Its central message is that in many cases, contrary to popular belief, society as a whole and in particular the poor have benefited from privatization. The book...

The history of the electric power industry in Latin America has been a continuous search for a formula that would yield a reliable and efficient service, accessible to all. By recognizing the difficulties encountered in the last three decades in implementing all types of models, Market or State?...

Latin America loses about nine trillion cubic meters of water each year, or some 30 percent of the water collected and treated for public consumption. While it is impossible for water systems to deliver 100 percent of their water to the household tap, Latin America could cut those losses by more...

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have shown interest in recent years in promoting private-sector participation in infrastructure projects. This trend has permitted budget consolidation, improved efficiency, and reduction of state participation in productive activities. The book...

This paper studies the effects of water sector privatization on consumers' welfare in 46 municipalities in Colombia. The paper evaluates the impact of privatization on access, price, and quality of water as well as health outcomes using differences-in-differences methodology with variation...

The present work summarizes a set of reports which have had the aim of diagnosing the civil service systems of seventeen countries: Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago,...