910
Views
88
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

A review of frontier approaches to efficiency and productivity measurement in urban water utilities

Pages 55-73 | Received 23 Apr 2011, Accepted 26 Dec 2012, Published online: 18 Mar 2013

REFERENCES

  • Abbott, M. and Cohen, B., 2009. Productivity and efficiency in the water industry. Utilities Policy, 17 (3–4), 233–244.
  • Antonioli, B. and Filippini, M., 2001. The use of variable cost function in the regulation of the Italian water industry. Utilities Policy, 10 (3–4), 181–187.
  • Anwandter, L. and Ozuna, T., 2002. Can public sector reforms improve the efficiency of public water utilities. Environment and Development Economics, 7 (4), 687–700.
  • Aubert, C. and Reynaud, A., 2005. The impact of regulation on cost efficiency: An empirical analysis of Wisconsin water utilities. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 23 (3), 383–409.
  • Bakker, K.J., 2010. Privatizing water: Governance failure and the world's urban water crisis. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
  • Bhattacharyya, A., Harris, T., Narayanan, R., and Raffiee, K., 1995. Specification and estimation of the effect of ownership on the economic efficiency of the water utilities. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 25 (6), 759–784.
  • Bhattacharyya, A., Parker, E., and Raffie, K., 1994. An examination of the effect of ownership on the relative efficiency of public and private water utilities. Land Economics, 70 (2), 197–209.
  • Bottasso, A. and Conti, M., 2003. Cost inefficiency in the English and Welsh water industry: An heteroskedastic stochastic cost frontier approach, Department of Economics Discussion Paper No. 575, University of Essex. Available from: http://www.essex.ac.uk/economics/discussion-papers/papers-text/dp573.pdf [Accessed 15 September 2010].
  • Bottasso, A. and Conti, M., 2009. Scale economies, technology, and technical change in the water industry: Evidence from the English water only sector. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 39 (2), 138–147.
  • Byrnes, J., Crase, L., Dollery, B., and Villano, R., 2009. An analysis of the relative efficiency of wastewater utilities in non-metropolitan New South Wales and Victoria. Australian Journal of Regional Studies, 15 (2), 153–169.
  • Byrnes, J., Crase, L., Dollery, B.E., and Villano, R., 2010. The relative economic efficiency of urban water utilities in regional New South Wales and Victoria. Resource and Energy Economics, 32 (3), 439–455.
  • Coelli, T. and Walding, S., 2006. Performance measurement in the Australian water supply industry: A preliminary analysis. In: T.Coelli and D.Lawrence, eds. Performance measurement and regulation of network utilities. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 29–62.
  • Coelli, T.J., Rao, D.S.P., O'Donnell, C.J., and Battese, G.E., 2005. An introduction to efficiency and productivity analysis. 2nd ed.New York: Springer.
  • Cooper, W.W., Seiford, L.M., and Tone, K., 2006. Introduction to data envelopment analysis and its uses: With DEA-Solver software and references. New York: Springer.
  • Cooper, W.W., Huang, Z.M., Lelas, V., Li, S.X., and Olesen, O.B., 1998. Chance constrained programming formulations for stochastic characterizations of efficiency and dominance in DEA. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 9 (1), 53–79.
  • CSIRO, 2012. Urban water research theme, Available from: http://www.csiro.au/Organisation-Structure/Flagships/Water-for-a-Healthy-Country-Flagship/Urban-Water/Urban-Water-overview.aspx [Accessed 8 October 2012].
  • Cubbin, J., 2004. Assessing Ofwat's efficiency econometrics: A report for Water UK, Available from: http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/∼sm340/Consulting&Policy/Water%20UK%20Assessing%20Ofwat%20Final140404.pdf [Accessed 12 May 2010].
  • Cubbin, J., 2005. Efficiency in the water industry. Utilities Policy, 13 (4), 289–293.
  • Cubbin, J. and Tzanidakis, G., 1998. Regression versus data envelopment analysis for efficiency measurement: An application to the England and Wales regulated water industry. Utilities Policy, 7 (2), 75–85.
  • Da Silva e Souza, G., Coelho de Faria, R., Belchiar, S., and Moreira, T., 2007. Estimating the relative efficiency of Brazilian publicly and privately owned water utilities: A stochastic cost frontier approach. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 43 (5), 1237–1244.
  • Da Silva e Souza, G., Coelho de Faria, R., Belchior, T., and Moreira, S., 2008. Efficiency of Brazilian public and private water utilities. Estudos Economicos, 38 (4), 905–917.
  • Erbetta, F. and Cave, M., 2006. Regulation and efficiency incentives: Evidence from the England and Wales water and sewerage industry. Review of Network Economics, 6 (2), 425–452.
  • Estache, A. and Rossi, M., 2002. How different is the efficiency of public and private water companies in Asia?World Bank Economic Review, 16 (1), 139–148.
  • Estache, A. and Trujillo, L., 2003. Efficiency effects of ‘privatization’ in Argentina's water and sanitation services. Water Policy, 5 (4), 369–380.
  • Fabbri, P. and Fraquelli, G., 2000. Costs and structure of technology in the Italian water industry. Empirica, 27 (1), 65–82.
  • Faria, C.R., Souza, G., and Moreira, T., 2005. Public versus private water utilities: Empirical evidence for Brazilian companies. Economics Bulletin, 8 (2), 1–7.
  • Filippini, M., Hrovatin, N., and Zorić, J., 2008. Cost efficiency of Slovenian water distribution utilities: An application of stochastic frontier methods. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 29 (2), 169–182.
  • Fraquelli, G. and Moiso, V., 2005. Cost efficiency and economies of scale in the Italian water industry, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica (SIEP). Dipartimento di Economia Pubblica e Territoriale – Università di Pavia. Available from: http://www-3.unipv.it/websiep/wp/420.pdf [Accessed 7 May 2010].
  • Fraquelli, G., Piacenza, M., and Vannoni, D., 2004. Scope and scale economies in multiutilities: Evidence from gas, water and electricity combinations. Applied Economics, 36 (18), 2045–2057.
  • Frontier Economics, 2008. Urban water markets: A final report prepared for the joint steering committee for water sensitive cities (JSCWSC). Melbourne: Frontier Economics Pty. Ltd.
  • Garcia, S., Moreaux, M., and Reynaud, A., 2007. Measuring economies of vertical integration in network industries: An application to the water sector. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 25, 791–820.
  • García-Sánchez, I.M., 2006. Efficiency measurement in Spanish local government: The case of municipal water services. Review of Policy Research, 23 (2), 355–371.
  • García-Valinas, M.A. and Muniz, M.A., 2007. Is DEA useful in the regulation of water utilities? A dynamic efficiency evaluation. Applied Economics, 39 (2), 245–252.
  • Guder, J., Kittlau, B., Moll, R., Walter, M., and Zschille, M., 2009. The performance of German water utilities: A first non-parametric analysis, DIW Berlin (German Institute for Economic Research) and Dresden University of Technology Efficiency Analysis Working Papers. WP-EA-20. Available from: http://www.webmeets.com/files/papers/EARIE/2009/199/water_structural_benchmarking_germany.pdf [Accessed 9 May 2010].
  • Huang, Z. and Li, S.X., 2001. Stochastic DEA models with different types of input–output disturbances. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 15 (2), 95–113.
  • Kirkpatrick, C., Parker, D., and Zhang, Y.F., 2006. State versus private sector provision of water services in Africa: An empirical analysis. World Bank Economic Review, 20 (1), 143–163.
  • Lambert, D., Dichev, D., and Raffiee, K., 1993. Ownership and sources of inefficiency in the provision of water services. Water Resources Research, 29 (6), 1573–1578.
  • Li, S.X., 1998. Stochastic models and variable returns to scale in data envelopment analysis. European Journal of Operational Research, 104 (3), 532–548.
  • Lynk, E.L., 1993. Privatisation, joint production and the comparative efficiencies of private and public ownership: The UK water industry case. Fiscal Studies, 14 (2), 98–116.
  • Mosheim, R., 2006. A shadow cost function model of the US water industry incorporating water quality and ownership effects. In: T.Coelli and D.Lawrence, eds. Performance Measurement and Regulation of Network Utilities. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 243–267.
  • Munisamy, S., 2010. Efficiency and ownership in water supply: evidence from Malaysia. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Business Research Conference. 8–9 April. Dubai: United Arab Emirates. Available from: www.wbiconpro.com/3.Susila.pdf [Accessed 10 May 2010]
  • National Water Commission, 2012. Urban water, Available from: http://nwc.gov.au/urban [Accessed 8 October 2012].
  • Nauges, C. and van den Berg, C., 2008. Economies of density, scale and scope in the water supply and sewerage sector: A study of four developing and transition economies. Journal of Regulatory Economics, 34 (2), 144–163.
  • Norman, M. and Stoker, B., 1991. Data envelopment analysis: The assessment of performance. Chichester, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
  • Ofwat, 2010a. Relative efficiency assessment 2007–08 — supporting information. Available from: http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulating/reporting/ltr_rd0209_supportinginfo.pdf [Accessed 5 May 2010].
  • Ofwat, 2010b. Relative efficiency assessment 2007–08 — water operating expenditure model data. Available from: http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/publications/pricereviewletters/ltr_pr0939_appendix2.pdf [Accessed 5 May 2010].
  • Ofwat, 2010c. Water and sewerage relative efficiency assessments. Available from: http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulating/reporting/ltr_rd0209_releffassess07-08 [Accessed 5 May 2010].
  • Ofwat, 2012. Future challenges. Available from: http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/future [Accessed 8 October 2012].
  • Picazo-Tadeo, A.J., Sáez-Fernández, F.J., and González-Gómez, F., 2008. Does service quality matter in measuring the performance of water utilities?Utilities Policy, 16 (1), 30–38.
  • Productivity Commission, 2011. Australia's urban water sector, Report No. 55, Final inquiry report, Canberra. Available from: http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/113192/urban-water-volume1.pdf [Accessed 8 October 2012].
  • Ramanathan, R., 2003. An introduction to data envelopment analysis: A tool for performance measurement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Ray, S.C., 2004. Data envelopment analysis: Theory and techniques for economics and operations research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Renzetti, S. and Dupont, D.P., 2009. Measuring the technical efficiency of municipal water suppliers: The role of environmental factors. Land Economics, 85 (4), 627–636.
  • Saal, D.S. and Parker, D., 2000. The impact of privatization and regulation on the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales: A translog cost function model. Managerial and Decision Economics, 21 (6), 253–268.
  • Saal, D.S. and Parker, D., 2001. Productivity and price performance in the privatized water and sewerage companies of England and Wales. Journal of Regulatory Economics, 20 (1), 61–90.
  • Saal, D.S. and Parker, D., 2006. Assessing the performance of water operations in the English and Welsh water industry: A lesson in the implications of inappropriately assuming a common frontier. In: T.Coelli and D.Lawrence, eds. Performance measurement and regulation of network utilities. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 297–328.
  • Saal, D.S., Parker, D., and Weyman-Jones, T., 2007. Determining the contribution of technical change, efficiency change and scale change to productivity growth in the privatized English and Welsh water and sewerage industry: 1985–2000. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 28 (1), 127–139.
  • Thanassoulis, E., 2001. Introduction to the theory and application of data envelopment analysis: A foundation text with integrated software. Norwell, MA: Kluwer.
  • Thanassoulis, E., 2000. The use of data envelopment analysis in the regulation of UK water utilities: Water distribution. European Journal of Operational Research, 126 (2), 436–453.
  • Thanassoulis, E., 2002. Comparative performance measurement in regulation: The case of English and Welsh sewerage services. Journal of Operational Research Society, 53 (3), 292–302.
  • Torres, M. and Morrison Paul, C.J., 2006. Driving forces for consolidation or fragmentation of the US water utility industry: A cost function approach with endogenous output. Journal of Urban Economics, 59 (1), 104–120.
  • Tupper, H.C. and Resende, M., 2004. Efficiency and regulatory issues in the Brazilian water and sewage sector: An empirical study. Utilities Policy, 12 (1), 29–40.
  • Uitto, J.I. and Biswas, A.K., eds., 2000. Water for urban areas: Challenges and perspectives. New York: United Nations.
  • United Nations, 2012. Responding to the urban water challenge. Available from: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/sustainable/water-challenge.html [Accessed 8 October 2012].
  • Walter, M., Cullmann, A., von Hirschhausen, C., Wand, R., and Zschille, M., 2009. Quo vadis efficiency analysis of water distribution? A comparative literature review. Utilities Policy, 17 (3–4), 225–232.
  • Woodbury, K. and Dollery, B.E., 2004. Efficiency measurement in Australian local government: The case of New South Wales municipal water services. Review of Policy Research, 21 (5), 615–636.
  • Worthington, A.C., 2010. A review of frontier approaches to efficiency and productivity measurement in urban water utilities, Griffith Business School Discussion Papers in Economics, No. 2010-10. Available from: http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/261153/2010-10-review-of-frontier-approaches-to-efficiency-and-productivity-measurement-in-urban-water-utilities.pdf [Accessed 11 February 2013].
  • Worthington, A.C., 2011. Productivity, efficiency, and technological progress in Australia's urban water utilities. Waterlines Report No. 62. Canberra, Australia: National Water Commission.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.