Download or read book Privatized Water Retreating State written by Isabelle Tiên Fauconnier and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Privatization of Water Services in the United States written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-09-20 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the quest to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of water and wastewater services, many communities in the United States are exploring the potential advantages of privatization of those services. Unlike other utility services, local governments have generally assumed responsibility for providing water services. Privatization of such services can include the outright sale of system assets, or various forms of public-private partnershipsâ€"from the simple provision of supplies and services, to private design construction and operation of treatment plants and distribution systems. Many factors are contributing to the growing interest in the privatization of water services. Higher operating costs, more stringent federal water quality and waste effluent standards, greater customer demands for quality and reliability, and an aging water delivery and wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure are all challenging municipalities that may be short of funds or technical capabilities. For municipalities with limited capacities to meet these challenges, privatization can be a viable alternative. Privatization of Water Services evaluates the fiscal and policy implications of privatization, scenarios in which privatization works best, and the efficiencies that may be gained by contracting with private water utilities.
Download or read book Priivatized Water Retreating State written by Isabelle Tien Fauconnier and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Contested Water written by Joanna L. Robinson and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2013-03-15 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of anti–water privatization movements in the United States and Canada that explores the interplay of the local and the global. Attempts by local governments to privatize water services have met with furious opposition. Activists argue that to give private companies control of the water supply is to turn water from a common resource into a marketized commodity. Moreover, to cede local power to a global corporation puts communities at the center of controversies over economic globalization. In Contested Water, Joanna Robinson examines local social movement organizing against water privatization, looking closely at battles for control of local water services in Stockton, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The movements in these two communities had different trajectories, used different tactics, and experienced different outcomes. Robinson analyzes the factors that shaped these two struggles. Drawing on extensive interviews with movement actors, political leaders, and policymakers and detailed analysis of textual material, Robinson shows that the successful campaign in Vancouver drew on tactics, opportunities, and narratives from the broader antiglobalization movement, with activists emphasizing the threats to local democracy and accountability; the less successful movement in Stockton centered on a ballot initiative that was made meaningless by a pre-emptive city council vote. Robinson finds that global forces are reshaping local movements, particularly those that oppose neoliberal reforms at the municipal level. She argues that anti–water privatization movements that link local and international concerns and build wide-ranging coalitions at local and global levels offer an effective way to counter economic globalization. Successful challenges to globalization will not necessarily come from transnational movements but rather from movements that are connected globally but rooted in local communities.
Download or read book Privatizing Water written by Madeline Baer and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation explores the transnational politics of water policy, specifically the debate over whether water should be treated as a commodity or a human right, and whether water services should be private or public. I explore this topic at two levels of analysis. At the level of global institutions and organizations, I analyze global governance on water by two sets of actors: the World Bank and its affiliated institutions and the transnational water justice movement. At the national level, I provide in-depth case studies of water privatization in Chile and the implementation of a human rights approach to water policy in Bolivia. I analyze the history of water reforms in these two countries, and evaluate the outcomes of water policy in terms of improvements in access to water services. Process tracing reveals a series of contextual factors that condition whether the human right to water can be fulfilled under private or public water services. I argue that neither approach alone - privatization or human rights - can improve access to water or fulfill the human right to water. I demonstrate that state capacity to govern the water sector in the public interest, including acting as en effective interlocutor between citizens and international financial actors, is key to improving access to water and fulfilling the human right to water, regardless of whether the water service is public or private. These findings expand existing frameworks for understanding how socioeconomic human rights are fulfilled in globalizing economies. Models of human rights fulfillment tend to only consider civil and political rights, provide a limited view of the state as a violator of rights, and focus too narrowly on legalization of socioeconomic rights. My research shows that fulfillment of socioeconomic rights requires more than improving justiciability of rights, and that strong state capacity is a key factor in fulfilling social and economic human rights. This research also challenges the neoliberal approach to water policy by showing that strong state interventions are necessary to improve access to water services.
Download or read book Water Privatization Trends in the United States written by Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This article examines 3 aspects of water privatization in the United States: 1) the privatization of public water services and systems; 2) the dominance of private property rights in water amid a complex legal regime of mixed public and private characteristics of water; and 3) the cultural framing of water as a consumer commodity. These trends raise significant human rights issues, not unlike global debates over human rights to water, and also critical national security issues related to conflict and scarcity, foreign control over domestic water supplies, and vulnerability to terrorism. More importantly, though, the article critiques the sustainability of the privatization and commodification of water in terms of the ecological, temporal, geographic, socio-ethical, policy, and economic integrity and sustainability of waters and watersheds. The article concludes that human rights legal theories lack the capacity to resolve concerns about meeting the human need for water. Likewise, national security policies are too limited to address larger issues of long-term water governance to ensure secure, stable, and sustainable water supplies for the public. The article proposes an alternative concept: public stewardship of water. This concept is based on the public ownership and control of water (i.e., the state ownership doctrine), subject to private property interests in water that are usufructuary in nature and regulated by the government for the public interest. These property interests in water should be seen as part of a "web of interests" defined by the unique and multi-faceted characteristics of water, including its role in sustaining all life. However, the government should be held to 6 fiduciary duties with respect to all water resources, moving beyond the traditional public trust doctrine: 1) the duty of security; 2) the duty of conservation; 3) the duty of sustainability; 4) the duty of equity; 5) the duty of investment; and 6) the duty of long-range, place-based planning. All stakeholders, including the public, should share in the government's responsibility for acting on these duties.
Download or read book Privatization of Public Water Services written by Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The privatization of public water services in the United States has grown dramatically in recent years in response to political and ideological interest in privatizing public services, arguments about economic efficiencies, and the realities of overwhelming public costs related to water quality standards, infrastructure upgrade needs, and operational complexities. Many states have expressly enacted statutes authorizing municipalities to transfer services, operation and management, and even ownership of public water systems to private firms. This article systematically evaluates the status of water privatization in the U.S., the legal authority for privatization and its limits, and the most common and significant issues in water privatization. These issues include: 1) the unique characteristics of water services; 2) operational efficiency and capital cost savings; 3) rates; 4) service quality and reliability, and water quality; 5) take-or-pay contracts; 6) long-term capital investment, maintenance, and public agency capacity; 7) environmental protection and impact; 8) global commerce in water; 9) security of water supplies and terrorism; 10) equity; 11) public employees; 12) public opinion; and 13) the limited authority of regional public water institutions. The article makes a case for a state legislation to protect the public and ensure accountability to the public when public water systems are considering privatization. It identifies specific model elements of a comprehensive state statute governing water privatization, including considerations when evaluating privatization proposals and conditions that should be imposed on private water firms. The article takes the position that the term "privatization" can mean any number of different arrangements, which are neither inherently good nor bad. The desirability of privatization arrangements depends on the context, the need, the nature of the arrangement, and legal controls imposed to ensure accountability to the public.
Download or read book Privatizing Water written by Karen Bakker and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book critically examines a range of issues, including the transnational struggle over the human right to water, the "commons" as a water supply management strategy, and the environmental dimensions of water privatization.
Download or read book An Uncooperative Commodity written by Karen J. Bakker and published by Oxford Geographical and Enviro. This book was released on 2003 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The privatization of water supply is an emotive and controversial topic. The 'British model' of water privatization is unique: no other country has entirely privatized its water supply and sewerage systems. This book analyzes the socio-economic and environmental dimensions in privatization in England and Wales. It examines the implications of privatization for consumers, environmental management, and the water supply industry.
Download or read book Managing California s Water written by Ellen Hanak and published by Public Policy Instit. of CA. This book was released on 2011 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation written by Carolyn Kousky and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tens of millions of Americans are at risk from sea level rise, increased tidal flooding, and intensifying storms. A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation identifies a bold new research and policy agenda and provides implementable options for coastal communities responding to these threats. In this book, coastal adaptation experts present a range of climate adaptation policies that could protect coastal communities against increasing risk, including concrete financing recommendations. Coastal adaptation will not be easy, but it is achievable using varied approaches. A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation will inspire innovative and cross-disciplinary thinking about coastal policy at the state and local level while providing actionable, realistic policy and planning options for adaptation professionals and policymakers.
Download or read book Water Ethics written by Peter G. Brown and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2010-01-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having manipulated water for irrigation, energy, and burgeoning urban centers, humans are facing the reality that although fresh water is renewable, it is as finite as any other resource. Countries, states, and cities are now scrambling to develop an intelligent, well-informed approach to mitigate the growing global water crisis. Water Ethics is based on the belief that responding to contemporary water problems requires attending to questions of value and culture. How should we capture, store, and distribute water? At what cost? For whom? How do we reconcile water's dual roles as a practical resource and spiritual symbol? According to the editors of this collection of foundational essays, questions surrounding water are inherently ethical. Peter Brown and Jeremy Schmidt contend that all approaches to managing water, no matter how grounded in empirical data, involve value judgments and cultural assumptions. Each of the six sections of the book discuses a different approach to thinking about the relationship between water and humanity, from utilitarianism to eco-feminism to religious beliefs, including Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Contributors range from Bartholemew, Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church to Nobel Laureate economist Elinor Ostrom and water policy expert Sandra Postel. Each section is framed by an original introductory essay written by the editors. Water Ethics will help readers understand how various moral perspectives, even when unstated, have guided and will continue to guide water policy around the globe.
Download or read book Deregulation and Privatisation written by Hector MacQueen and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-05 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an issue of our quarterly journal Hume Papers on Public Policy - the journal of the David Hume Institute.
Download or read book The Transformation of Welfare States written by Nick Ellison and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-04-07 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Globalization', institutions and welfare regimes -- The challenge of globalization -- Globalization and welfare regime change -- Towards workfare? : changing labour market policies -- Labour market policies in social democratic and continental regimes -- Population ageing, GEPs and changing pensions systems -- Pensions policies in continental and social regimes -- Conclusion : welfare regimes in a liberalizing world.
Download or read book The Chinese State s Retreat from Health written by Jane Duckett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the post-Mao period, the Chinese state has radically cut back its role in funding health services and insuring its citizens against the costs of ill health. Using an analytical framework drawn from studies of state retrenchment in industrialized democracies and in post-communist Eastern Europe, Jane Duckett argues that the state’s retreat from health in China was not a simple consequence of economic policies and market reform. Just as important were the influences of health policies, reform era political institutions, communist party ideology, and bureaucratic stakeholders. Through her analysis, Duckett maintains that by studying retrenchment in China, the world’s most populous nation and now a major global economic power, we can better understand international transformations in the role of the state, and the politics that shape that role. The Chinese State’s Retreat from Health both extends research on retrenchment politics to a major authoritarian state and contributes to piecing together understanding of the Chinese state’s changing role across the economy and other social policies, including housing and education. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese politics, social policy and the Chinese health care system, as well as to those with a comparative interest in health, welfare states and the politics of retrenchment. Jane Duckett is Professor of Chinese and Comparative Politics at the University of Glasgow, UK.
Download or read book The Retreat of the Elephants written by Mark Elvin and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A landmark account of China's environmental history--by an internationally pre-eminent China specialist This is the first environmental history of China during the three thousand years for which there are written records. It is also a treasure trove of literary, political, aesthetic, scientific, and religious sources, which allow the reader direct access to the views and feelings of the Chinese people toward their environment and their landscape. Elvin chronicles the spread of the Chinese style of farming that eliminated the habitat of the elephants that populated the country alongside much of its original wildlife; the destruction of most of the forests; the impact of war on the environmental transformation of the landscape; and the re-engineering of the countryside through water-control systems, some of gigantic size. He documents the histories of three contrasting localities within China to show how ecological dynamics defined the lives of the inhabitants. And he shows that China in the eighteenth century, on the eve of the modern era, was probably more environmentally degraded than northwestern Europe around this time. Indispensable for its new perspective on long-term Chinese history and its explanation of the roots of China's present-day environmental crisis, this book opens a door into the Chinese past.
Download or read book Alternatives to Privatization written by David A. McDonald and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-04-23 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a vast literature for and against privatizing public services. Those who are against privatization are often confronted with the objection that they present no alternative. This book takes up that challenge by establishing theoretical models for what does (and does not) constitute an alternative to privatization, and what might make them ‘successful’, backed up by a comprehensive set of empirical data on public services initiatives in over 40 countries. This is the first such global survey of its kind, providing a rigorous and robust platform for evaluating different alternatives and allowing for comparisons across regions and sectors. The book helps to conceptualize and evaluate what has become an important and widespread movement for better public services in the global South. The contributors explore historical, existing and proposed non-commercialized alternatives for primary health, water/sanitation and electricity. The objectives of the research have been to develop conceptual and methodological frameworks for identifying and analyzing alternatives to privatization, and testing these models against actually existing alternatives on the ground in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Information of this type is urgently required for practitioners and analysts, both of whom are seeking reliable knowledge on what kind of public models work, how transferable they are from one place to another and what their main strengths and weaknesses are.
