Publication: Infrastructure Concessions, Information Flows, and Regulatory Risk
Loading...
Date
1999-12
ISSN
Published
1999-12
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Regulators of concessions in newly privatized infrastructure sectors typically start the price control process with limited sectoral and corporate data. To move toward more realistic regulatory targets, they must ensure that this information base grows and that their ability to process it improves-a costly undertaking but worth the expense. Getting it right-with well-conceived rules, data, and methodologies-helps to avoid time-consuming regulatory disputes and contract renegotiations, reduce regulatory capture by the new private operator, and assess who gains and who loses from utility privatization. Getting it wrong can cause the concessionaire to operate and invest inefficiently, raise its cost of capital, and ultimately jeopardize privatization. This Note outlines the accounting requirements that a regulator should impose on new concessionaires to navigate these waters as smoothly as possible.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Burns, Phil; Estache, Antonio. 1999. Infrastructure Concessions, Information Flows, and Regulatory Risk. Viewpoint. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11446 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication Competition and Poverty(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-04)A literature review shows competition policy reforms can deliver benefits for the poorest households and improve income distribution. A lack of competition in food markets hurts the poorest households the most. Competition in input markets and between buyers helps farmers and small businesses. And more competitive markets bolster job growth over the longer term. More research is needed, however, to better understand the impact of competition reforms and antitrust enforcement on poverty and shared prosperity.Publication Export Competitiveness(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06)This review of the empirical literature shows that industries with more intense domestic competition will export more. Competition law enforcement can be traced to export performance and is complementary to trade reforms. Pro-competition market regulation that reduces restrictions and promotes competition, where it is viable, is an important determinant for trade. The elimination of barriers to entry and rivalry, and a level playing field in upstream sectors contributes to export competitiveness in downstream manufacturing sectors. In some sectors, effective competition policy can directly lower trade costs.Publication Small Business Tax Regimes(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02)Simplified tax regimes for micro and small enterprises in developing countries are intended to facilitate voluntary tax compliance. However, survey evidence suggests that small business taxation based on simplified bookkeeping or turnover is sometimes perceived as too complex for microenterprises in countries with high illiteracy levels. Very simple fixed tax regimes not requiring any books or records tend to be overly popular but prone to abuse. System reforms will require more precise tailoring of the simplified regimes to their target beneficiaries, coupled with strong compliance management to detect and deter abuse. The overall objective of simplified taxation for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries is generally to facilitate voluntary tax compliance and remove obstacles in moving toward business formalization and growth.Publication Investment Climate in Africa(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-07-01)The World Bank Group has been working on investment climate reform in Sub-Saharan Africa for nearly a decade, a period characterized by dramatic economic growth on the continent. Establishing links between such reform interventions and economic growth, however, is a complex problem. Although this note finds some connection between investment climate reform and economic growth, establishing more concrete evidence of causation will require greater focus at the country level, as well as on small and medium enterprises. This is where investment climate interventions generate change.Publication Contract Farming(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-10)Contract farming involves production by farmers under agreement with buyers for their outputs. This arrangement can help integrate small-scale farmers into modern agricultural value chains, providing them with inputs, technical assistance, and assured markets. Critics contend that contract partners may subject farmers to abuses. The literature shows that in fact contract farming can raise farm income, but mainly for high-value crops. It also indicates that in many cases firms are willing to work with small farms. This note confirms that conflicts are common between buyers and farmers, and that alternative dispute resolution methods may help resolve them.