Publication: Infrastructure for Poor People : Public Policy for Private Provision
Date
2003
ISSN
Published
2003
Author(s)
Abstract
The chapters in this book examine the
data on infrastructure and the poor in developing countries
and consider how policies centered on private provision can
address their needs. Many of the chapters focus on the
extent to which the poor have access to infrastructure
services of reasonable quality, for example, to water that
is safe to drink, to a reliable source of electricity, and
to a nearby telephone. Access to such services is, of
course, not the only infrastructure issue that matters to
the poor; the poor who already have access to modern
services care, for instance, about the price and reliability
of those services. However, in most developing countries
access is the key issue. In these countries most of the poor
have no access to standard infrastructure services provided
by utilities. Instead they often pay high prices for
lower-quality substitutes: they might buy water by the
bucket from a private vendor and use candles instead of
electricity for lighting. They would rarely make a telephone
call. The lack of ready access to good basic infrastructure
services can directly reduce the well-being of the poor.
Citation
“Brook, Penelope J.; Irwin, Timothy C.. 2003. Infrastructure for Poor People : Public Policy for Private Provision. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/7a85a7d8-7b52-522c-9da9-6ebc6370ae71 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”