INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT MODELS FOR SANITATION PROVISION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF BRAZILIAN MUNICIPALITIES

Abstract

Efforts focused on evaluations of public policies and management of water and sanitation services are incipient in Brazil, a field still to be explored by studies and academic research. Specifically on the different modalities of water supply and sanitation services, comparative studies may contribute to the ability to discuss the performance offered by the different managers. In this context, the paper develops a performance comparative assessment of the different institutional models for sanitation provision in Brazil. The paper compares the services of about 3,000 Brazilian municipalities, by a nonparametric analysis of variance. In this analysis, the services were grouped based on the following classification: (i) services provided with direct municipal administration, (ii) services provided with indirect municipal administration (local autarchy), (iii) private companies and (iv) regional companies. The survey was conducted for the 2008 base year, using secondary data. In order to characterize and compare the different groups, performance indicators were constructed to represent the extension of interceptors, treatment index, main coverage and number of complaints about the quality of the sanitation services. The results showed significant differences between the models. The regional companies stood out with high level of interception and treatment of sanitation, and the indirect municipal administration was responsible for the highest values of main coverage.

Key Words: sanitation, indicators, provision.