Abstract
The objective of this study is to analyze how integrated policy, institutional, and regulatory interventions (institutional interventions in brief) can help align incentives for more sustainable water supply and sanitation (WSS) service delivery. The context for the study is the enhanced global concern about the sustainability of attempts to increase access to, and improve the quality of, WSS services, as exemplified in the sustainable development goals. Aligning institutional interventions refers to harmonization among the objectives for the sector, agreed principles established through political and social processes, and the organizations and mechanisms that implement actions based on such objectives and principles. This report focuses on the formal policy, institutional, and regulatory interventions available to and or prevalent in the water sector, recognizing the critical importance of the informal conventions that will be key factors in the success of any incentive regime. Previous global initiatives offered a range of promising technical solutions that often proved to be unsustainable. New thinking that draws not only infrastructure economics but also on the understanding of political, behavioral, and institutional economics is needed. This new thinking must be grounded within the differing contextual realities of countries globally and in lessons learned from what has or has not worked with regards to achieving specific objectives.
Highlights
There has been a significant increase in resources expended on water supply and sanitation (WSS) infrastructure investments in efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
In Asia, the Bangladesh case study explores the basis for the success of community-led total sanitation (CLTS); Indonesia has a complex history of decentralization and lessons from the current policy-led drive to achieve ambitious national targets; and the Philippines is interesting given the differentiated roles of the central and local governments, and the resulting role filled by small private operators and other entities; and
Financial incentives can be enhanced through performance-based financing (PBF) mechanisms, which is being used to good effect in various countries and new PBF instruments are being tried out
Summary
The objective of this study is to analyze how integrated policy, institutional, and regulatory interventions (or, “institutional interventions,” in short) can help align incentives for more sustainable water supply and sanitation (WSS) service delivery. The topics covered in the literature review (and briefly described in this main report) include: trends in public sector reform and intervention; policy and institutional reforms in WSS service delivery; regulation of WSS services; and the political economy perspective. In Asia, the Bangladesh case study explores the basis for the success of community-led total sanitation (CLTS); Indonesia has a complex history of decentralization and lessons from the current policy-led drive to achieve ambitious national targets; and the Philippines is interesting given the differentiated roles of the central and local governments, and the resulting role filled by small private operators and other entities (including nongovernment and community-based organizations); and,. The full literature review and the detailed deep-dive case studies are provided separately in appendixes (World Bank 2017e). This report draws lessons from successful, failed, or ambiguous reforms throughout the globe—whether the UK, Jordan, Bolivia, or Nepal—with boxes presented throughout the body of the report to provide illustrative examples
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
