Support Infrastructure Development

Access to basic services remains low in many developing countries. For instance, in sub-Saharan Africa, only 37 percent of the population have access to sanitation. In this region, only about 56 percent of households have access to clean water. Electricity consumption stands at 594 kwh per capita (as compared to consumption of over 4,000 kwh per capita for developed countries).

The record of the public sector has been linked to maintenance failures, taps running dry and electricity blackouts. Privatisation is also becoming under severe criticism. The tension between cost recovery (efficacy gains) and social policy goals remains a challenge. Community provision of water has also raised issues related to safety and exorbitant prices.

IPC-IG carries out applied research and facilitate South-South learning through tackling the questions below:

  • What is the relationship between poverty and access to basic infrastructure services?   
  • How will the urgently needed investments in infrastructure be financed?
  • Will re-structured public provision of basic services increase access?
  • Is private provision working as a means of increasing the quality and quantity of basic services being provided to households in the developing world?
  • What are the success stories of public-private partnerships in ensuring equitable access to basic services?
  • Has a strong regulatory environment, including the legal frameworks to enforce and negotiate contracts, helped to ensure greater service provision to the poor?

Our publications

International Workshop on Equitable Access to Basic Services


Finance

The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on The Economy of Sierra Leone
John Weeks. Country Study # 18. September 2009.

The Financial Crisis and Its Impact on Developing Countries
Stephany Griffith-Jones, José Antonio Ocampo. Working Paper # 53. April 2009.

How Does the Financial Crisis Affect Developing Countries?
Stephany Griffith-Jones, Diana Alarcón, José Antonio Ocampo. One Pager # 81. April 2009.

Banking the Un-Banked: Improving Access to Financial Services
Degol Hailu, Asad Kamran Ghalib. Policy Research Brief # 9. October 2008.

Equitable Access to Financial Services: Is Microfinancing Sufficient?
Degol Hailu. One Pager # 59. July 2008.

Financial Liberalization and Domestic Resource Mobilization in Africa: an Assessment
John Serieux . Working Paper # 45. April 2008.

The Urgent Need for Financial Reform to Mobilise Savings in Sub-Saharan Africa
Costas Lapavitsas, Sedat Aybar. One Pager # 50. March 2008.

Is Financial Liberalization a Flop? An Africa Assessment
John Serieux , Terry McKinley. One Pager # 48. February 2008.

Financial Policy
Gerald Epstein, Ilene Grabel. Training Module # 3. July 2007.


Basic Services

Privatisation and Renationalisation: What Went Wrong in Bolivia’s Water Sector?
Raquel Tsukada , Rafael Guerreiro Osorio, Degol Hailu. Working Paper # 58. October 2009.

Water Privatisation and Renationalisation in Bolivia: Are the Poor Better Off?
Degol Hailu, Rafael Guerreiro Osorio, Raquel Tsukada . One Pager # 100. October 2009.

Equitable Access to Basic Utilities: Public versus Private Provision and Beyond
Degol Hailu, Raquel Tsukada . Poverty In Focus # 18. August 2009.

Private Sector Participation in African Infrastructure: Is it Worth the Risk?
Kate Bayliss. Working Paper # 55. May 2009.

Utility Provision: Contract Design in the Interest of the Poor
Degol Hailu, Portia Hunt. Policy Research Brief # 10. December 2008.

Reforming Without Resourcing: The Case of the Urban Water Supply in Zambia
Hulya Dagdeviren, Simon A. Robertson. Policy Research Brief # 8. September 2008.

Tariff Hikes with Low Investment: The Story of the Urban Water Sector in Zambia
Hulya Dagdeviren, Degol Hailu. One Pager # 57. June 2008.

Lessons from the South African Electricity Crisis
Kate Bayliss. One Pager # 56. June 2008.

Equitable Access to Basic Services: Who will Guarantee it?
Degol Hailu. One Pager # 55. June 2008.

Debating the Provision of Basic Utilities in Sub-Saharan Africa: a Response to Nellis
Kate Bayliss, Ben Fine. One Pager # 32. April 2007.

Privatising Basic Utilities in Africa: a Rejoinder
John Nellis. One Pager # 31. April 2007.

Privatising Basic Utilities in Sub-Saharan Africa: The MDG Impact
Kate Bayliss, Terry McKinley. Policy Research Brief # 3. January 2007.

Can Privatisation and Commercialisation of Public Services Help Achieve The MDGs? An Assessment
Tim Kessler, Kate Bayliss. Working Paper # 22. July 2006.

Publications Database

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