Are They Really Being Served? Assessing Effective Infrastructure Access and Quality in 15 Kenyan Cities

Gulyani, Sumila ; Rizvi, Andrea ; Talukdar, Debabrata

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: INFRASTRUCTURE;    URBAN SERVICES;    SERVICE DELIVERY;    SERVICE QUALITY;    WATER AND SANITATION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8750
RP-ID  :  WPS8750

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper proposes a framework thatexamines three levels of access to infrastructure --nominal, effective, and quality-adjusted access. Mostconventional indicators measure nominal access --whether ahousehold has physical access to a service in or near thehouse. By contrast, effective access incorporatesfunctionality and use of service, and quality-adjustedaccess raises the bar by incorporating quality metrics. Thepaper illustrates the analytical utility of this conceptualframework by deploying data from a survey of 14,200households in 15 Kenyan cities in 2012-13. First, theanalysis finds that these cities fall far short ofdelivering universal access to basic infrastructure. Second,for most services there a large gap -- 3 to 41 percentagepoints—between nominal and effective access. When the bar israised to include quality of service, the drop-off in theproportion of those with access is even more dramatic. Thesefindings suggest that conventional nominal measuresoverreport the level of service in urban communities, andthat current approaches to infrastructure delivery might beenhancing availability of a service without ensuring thatthe service is usable -- that is, functional, reliable andaffordable. Third, there is an infrastructure access gapbetween nonpoor and poor households, as well as formal andinformal settlements. Fourth, hedonic regression analysisreveals that four services -- electricity, water, toilets,and garbage collection—are associated with higher rents. Theanalysis has broader implications for understanding andmeasuring service access. It raises important questions asglobal discussions turn to indicators for the SustainableDevelopment Goals.