In this special issue, we aim to reflect on the first 21 years of research published in the Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning (JEPP), consisting of over 600 research articles and ninetee...
This paper investigates the role of government-linked companies (GLCs) in public–private partnerships (PPPs) for urban water supply in China. GLCs are corporations in which the government has significant ownership, control and influence while being registered under the same corporate law as private companies. Separate from local governments that own water utilities, they form contractual relationships with local governments (or water utilities owned by local governments) under PPP arrangements, rendering them more accountable and profit-driven. We analyze an emerging PPP model in China’s water sector, where GLCs serve as major investors, and assess their effectiveness and limitations. Our findings indicate that the involvement of GLCs improves water utilities’ performance, and the quality of their water supply services, while offering potential advantages such as stronger financial capability, higher political risk resistance capacity, and mitigation of public tension. However, concerns persist about risk-sharing, political interference, and local government control. This research contributes to understanding the evolving landscape of PPPs in China’s water sector and the potential implications of GLC involvement for urban water supply systems globally.
This article employs a hydro-economic optimization model to analyze the effects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the distribution and magnitude of benefits in the Eastern Nile. Scenarios are considered based on plausible institutional arrangements that span varying levels of cooperation, as well as changes in hydrological conditions (water availability). The results show that the dam can increase Ethiopia's economic benefits by a factor of 5–6, without significantly affecting or compromising irrigation and hydropower production downstream. However, increasing GERD water storage during a drought could lead to high costs not only for Egypt and Sudan, but also for Ethiopia.
Uncertainty has been considered both a driver of and barrier to collaborative governance. Uncertainty concerning pollution sources, its impacts, and the effectiveness of control measures can undermine incentive structures necessary for collaborative governance. This paper examines the uncertainties in air pollution policy formulation in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta Greater Bay Area, as well as the role of science in reducing such uncertainties to foster and sustain collaborative governance. Through a case study of shipping emissions control, we find that science can play a critical role in addressing substantive uncertainties, the mitigation of which facilitates voluntary agreements and other collaborative arrangements that reduce strategic and institutional uncertainties to enable the enactment of official policy solutions. This study shows that science can reduce uncertainties and facilitate collaborative governance under circumstances that permit the avoidance of key challenges raised by other scholars. The mitigation of these uncertainties can allow a collaborative governance framework to evolve across typological levels during the policy development process.
ABSTRACT Market‐oriented reforms in the health sector continue to dominate health policy agendas in many developing countries despite growing evidence of their negative impacts. This article critically examines eight key arguments that are used to justify market‐oriented reforms and that continue to hold widespread appeal among policy makers and analysts. The authors conclude that although the axiom that health care is atypical due to pervasive market failures is widely acknowledged by reformers, the scope and depth of the negative consequences of market competition and private sector involvement are systematically underestimated in policy design and implementation, while the regulatory capacity to overcome them is overestimated. Their analysis suggests that while there is considerable scope for market‐oriented reforms, the success of such reforms depends on a tight set of conditions that are often absent in the health care sector, especially but not exclusively in developing countries.
Abstract In 2001, we conducted a survey of 1500 randomly sampled households in Kathmandu to determine the costs people were incurring to cope with Kathmandu's poor quality, unreliable piped water supply system. From 2001 until 2014, there was little additional public investment in the municipal water supply system. In the summer of 2014, we attempted to reinterview all 1500 households in our 2001 sample to determine how they had managed to deal with the growing water shortage and the deteriorating condition of the piped water infrastructure in Kathmandu and to compare their coping costs in 2014 with those we first estimated in 2001. Average household coping costs more than doubled in real terms over the period from 2001 to 2014, from US$5 to US$12 per month (measured in 2014 prices). The composition of household coping costs changed from 2001 to 2014, as households responded to the deteriorating condition of the piped water infrastructure by drilling more private wells, purchasing water from both tanker truck and bottled water vendors, and installing more storage tanks. These investments and expenditures resulted in a decline in the time households spend collecting water from outside the home. Our analysis suggests that the significant increase in coping costs between 2001 and 2014 may provide an opportunity for the municipal water utility to substantially increase water tariffs if the quantity and quality of piped services can be improved. However, the capital investments made by some households in private wells, pumping and treatment systems, and storage tanks in response to the delay in infrastructure investment may lock them into current patterns of water use, at least in the short run, and thus make it difficult to predict how they would respond to tariff increases for improved piped water services.
China has made substantial progress in transforming water governance to respond to water crises and to support rapid socio-economic development. We aim to critically and comprehensively analyze important innovations in managerial approaches, as well as new developments and associated challenges in water policies, by bringing together cutting-edge research and best practices on water resources management in contemporary China. The key lessons drawn from the transformation include improving relationships among government, market and civil society in terms of water governance, as well as introducing innovative solutions to water challenges according to the specific contexts.
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(23.036 .093 25.536)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(45.87 1.273 16.18)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(69.945 .996 12.078)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(20.66 -19.689 31.932)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(144 450 300)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(216 450 300)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(288 450 300)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='translate(288.889 -214.211)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='translate(108 342.749)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='translate(469.189 342.749)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
 scale(5.56106)'%3e%3ccircle r='1'/%3e%3cg id='d'%3e%3cg id='c'%3e%3cpath id='b' d='M.195-.98 0-1.39l-.195.408' transform='rotate(11.25)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23b' transform='rotate(22.5)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23b' transform='rotate(45)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23c' transform='rotate(67.5)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' transform='scale(-1 1)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cg transform='translate(0 58.787) scale(8.1434)'%3e%3ccircle r='1'/%3e%3cg id='g'%3e%3cg id='f'%3e%3cpath id='e' d='M.259.966 0 1.576l-.259-.61'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23e' transform='rotate(180)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23f' transform='rotate(90)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23g' transform='rotate(30)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23g' transform='rotate(60)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)