A decade after the international Dublin and Rio conferences of the early 1990s, where the economic value of water gained greater recognition, many developing countries have been struggling to implement higher cost recovery policies in rural water supply (RWS) programs. Even though many countries accepted the principle that the poor were willing to pay for good quality services and therefore should be charged for them, a long history of RWS subsidization posed significant challenges in implementing this policy. In China, however, during the same period and away from the fanfare of international declarations, partial user-financing in RWS had already been implemented for many years by the government. The World Bank-assisted rural water supply and sanitation lending program, which started in 1985, built on this approach and developed a very effective cost recovery policy where the users finance up to 75 percent of the capital investment as well as the full operation and maintenance (O&M) cost. Clearly, if cost recovery was the mantra of the 1990s, the Chinese were well ahead of the curve.
Details
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Document Date
2002/08/01
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Document Type
Brief
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Report Number
71795
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Volume No
1
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Total Volume(s)
1
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Country
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Region
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Disclosure Date
2012/08/10
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Disclosure Status
Disclosed
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Doc Name
Willingness to charge and willingness to pay : the World Bank-assisted China rural water supply and sanitation program
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Keywords
water plant;water supply and sanitation service;tariff increase;rural water supply and sanitation;cost recovery policy;annual per capita income;per capita daily consumption;Rural Water and Sanitation;improved water supply;piped water supply;water supply scheme;rainwater collection system;water supply system;financially sustainable level;increase tariff;water supply service;cost of labor;central government transfer;management of household;cost of electricity;cost of supply;water quality monitoring;debt service;water tariff;tube wells;large subsidy;tariff system;village committee;investment cost;sustained access;hand pump;adversely impact;recovery system;plant level;Capital Investments;external funding;water loss;significant challenge;repayment period;money supply;flow channel;water source;administrative structure;counterpart fund;tariff approval;household connection;tariff level;rural community;water bill;poor household;water account;cost sharing;safe drinking;rural beneficiary;safe water;quality service;loan repayment;ideal context;surplus capacity;construction standard;community institution;nominal capital;improved service;water fee;existing law;community labor;national policy;rural area;milk cooperative;lab testing;technical standard;Centralized Procurement;open market;effective price;tariff setting;international partnership;financial sustainability;Enterprise Law;public hearing;individual household;bill collector;rural income;monthly payment;household tap;existing tariffs;
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Citation
Willingness to charge and willingness to pay : the World Bank-assisted China rural water supply and sanitation program (English). Water and sanitation program field note Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/906381468241440905/Willingness-to-charge-and-willingness-to-pay-the-World-Bank-assisted-China-rural-water-supply-and-sanitation-program