Infrastructure for Poor People : Public Policy for Private Provision

Brook, Penelope J. ; Irwin, Timothy C.

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: POOR PEOPLE;    STATE OWNED COMPANIES;    PRIVATE COMPANY;    ELECTRICITY;    WATER;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-0-8213-5342-4
RP-ID  :  26061

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The chapters in this book examine thedata on infrastructure and the poor in developing countriesand consider how policies centered on private provision canaddress their needs. Many of the chapters focus on theextent to which the poor have access to infrastructureservices of reasonable quality, for example, to water thatis safe to drink, to a reliable source of electricity, andto a nearby telephone. Access to such services is, ofcourse, not the only infrastructure issue that matters tothe poor; the poor who already have access to modernservices care, for instance, about the price and reliabilityof those services. However, in most developing countriesaccess is the key issue. In these countries most of the poorhave no access to standard infrastructure services providedby utilities. Instead they often pay high prices forlower-quality substitutes: they might buy water by thebucket from a private vendor and use candles instead ofelectricity for lighting. They would rarely make a telephonecall. The lack of ready access to good basic infrastructureservices can directly reduce the well-being of the poor.