Articles
Volume 37, 2002 · Number 3 · pp. 138–149
European Water Infrastructures: Regulatory Flux void of Reference? - The Case of Germany, France, England and Wales
This article outlines the structure of, and the challenges facing, the water industries in several European countries and describes their respective experiences with technocratic infrastructure management, delegated supervision of private concessions, and price-cap regulation. It then addresses common concerns related to operating efficiency and pricing to point to the dearth of comparable data, which limits meaningful benchmarking of productivity and infrastructure conditions, thwarts regulatory and managerial supervision and hampers the identification of some global norms. Attaining that reference calls for an independent, central body able to shed light on national performance and stakeholder interests.
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