Water privatisation David Halldjhall@greacukFebruary.ppt

Water privatisation David Halldjhall@greacukFebruary 2008David Hall Brussels 28 February 2008 Water privatisation David Hall .******@ February 2008 Director, Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) University of Greenwich s draws on research carried out with colleagues at PSIRU and elsewhere, especially Emanuele Lobina. It draws on projects financed by EPSU ; Public Services International ; the mission, through the Watertime project, contract -2002-095 ; and others. This presentation reflect the views of the author and should not be attributed to the funders. David Hall Brussels 28 February 2008 Summary ? Privatisation trends ? Public sector dominance ? Price and efficiency effects ? Ownership trends ? Equity/debt financing ? Public opposition David Hall Brussels 28 February 2008 Growth of water privatisation stops ? 1800-1989: local firms > 20 th century public sector – panies fail to deliver investment – 85%+ municipal, public finance in EU, USA, Japan – only in France privates survive, dominate from 1970s ? 1989-2002: expected private sector domination – Water privatisation expected to spread in north – Multinationals/donors support privatisation in south – Candidate for EU liberalisation ? 2003-2007 – Growth halts, reverses in south – EU liberalisation rejected by parliament – Netherlands outlaws water privatisation – Many water contracts in south have been terminated – EU public finance subsidy for southern and eastern states David Hall Brussels 28 February 2008 Public and private water operations, 2006 David Hall Brussels 28 February 2008 Prices, productivity, efficiency ? Expected monopoly effect on prices – France: private prices 16% higher (Chong et al. 2006) – UK: price increases exceed growth in costs – Problems of excessive pricing in NMS eg Sofia, Tallinn ? UK: productivity worsens after privatisation – Labour productivity faster than pre-privatisation – total factor productivity growth slower after privatisation ? Global evidence: –“ t