Does Infrastructure Reform Work for the Poor? A Case Study on the Cities of La Paz and El Alto in Bolivia

[摘要] From 1994 onward, Bolivia undertook amajor reform of its infrastructure sectors. The authorsexamine the impact of the reforms from the perspective ofpoor households in the adjacent cities of La Paz and ElAlto, particularly in terms of access to services. Differentpolicies adopted across the infrastructure sectors led todiverging outcomes. In the water and sewerage sector, theconcessionaire was placed under legal obligation to meetconnection targets in low income neighborhoods, whilecustomers were given the facility to spread payment ofconnection charges over a two year period and opt for alower cost "condominial connection." As a resultthe rate of expansion of services increased by 70 percentrelative to the pre-reform period. In the telecommunicationssector, fixed and cellular services tell very differentstories. On the one hand, fixed line services remainedinaccessible to the poor due to the membership fee ofUS$1,500 charged by the cooperative, or the alternativenonmember option of paying a US$23 monthly rental fee. Onthe other hand, cellular coverage increased tenfold from1996-99 as the advent of competition led to huge reductionsboth in connection and calling charges, while theintroduction of prepayment cards greatly facilitated thecontrol of expenditure The expansion that took place did notbypass the poor. While first quintile households saw barelyany improvement in access to utility services in the periodleading up to the 1994 reforms, in the five years thatfollowed coverage rates for these households rose by morethan 20 percentage points for water and sewerage, and morethan 10 percentage points for electricity and telephones.Overall, 80 percent of new water and sewerage connectionsand 65 percent of new electricity and telephone connectionswent to residents in the poorest neighborhoods of La Paz andEl Alto.

[发布机构] World

[学科分类] 社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

[关键词] ACCESS TO SERVICES;ACCESS TO WATER;ACCOUNTING;COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION;CONCESSION AREA