Pricing for the Poor

[NOTE: Readers should cross-reference this section with Social Aspects.]

Core References

Impact of Market Structure on Service Options for the Poor
Presented at Infrastructure for Development: Private Solutions and the Poor, 31 May – 2 June 2000, London, UK.
Ehrhardt, David

Discusses market structure options for utility reforms, with special attention to impacts on the poor. Considers entrants versus formal providers, price and quality options, payment mechanisms, subsidies, and regulatory process.

Designing Direct Subsidies for the Poor – A Water and Sanitation Case Study
Note no. 211 in Public Policy for the Private Sector. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group, June 2000.
Vivien Foster, Andres Gómez-Lobo, and Jonathan Halpern

Describes direct subsidies for making infrastructure services more affordable to the poor. Considers how governments pay part of the water bill of poor households that meet certain eligibility criteria. Describes case of Chile and illustrates how simulation techniques can be used to improve the effectiveness of such programs.

New Designs for Water and Sanitation Transactions Making Private Sector Participation Work for the Poor
Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, undated.
World Bank

Discusses the importance of considering the poor in water reforms. Examines various elements of water reforms, including tariff reform, governance, and management changes. Discusses legal issues for helping the poor, including the regulatory framework, using competition, private sector involvement, and methods for addressing legal issues.

Sectoral References

TRANSPORTATION

Taxi Travel Should Be Subsidized
Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 316-333.
Arnott, Richard

In a first-best environment, taxi travel should be subsidized. The result derives from economies of density—doubling trips and taxis reduces waiting time. The subsidy should cover the shadow cost of taxis’ idle time, evaluated at the optimum. The paper provides a proof of the result for dispatch taxis and then discusses the practicality of its implementation.

Cities on the Move: A World Bank Urban Transport Strategy Review
China Financial and Economic Publishing House, Beijing, China, 2002.
World Bank

Connects the urban and transport strategies with a focus on poverty. Concentrates on the problems of the very poor, not only in relation to income, but also in terms of the broader dimensions of social exclusion. Seeks to offer a better common understanding of urban transportation problems in developing and transitional economies and to identify an urban transport strategy framework for national and city governments.

Sustainable Transport: Priorities for Policy Reform
World Bank, Washington, D.C., 1996.
World Bank

Describes how strategies and programs in the transport sector can be designed to make more efficient use of public resources, facilitate trade and other economic activity, foster competitive markets, and better serve users’ needs–in particular, expanding poor people’s access to services and opportunities. The discussion is organized around the concepts of economic and financial sustainability, environmental and ecological sustainability, and social sustainability.

Case Studies

Regulatory Reforms in India: Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Impacts
The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi, India, 2003.
Garg, A., M. Kabra, and R. Kacker

Pricing Energy in Developing Countries
June 2001.
World Energy Council