Network losses and returns are importantissues for water resource management, that are addressed in thispaper by modeling the structure of production for municipal waterutilities with two outputs: water sold to final customers andwater network losses. We propose a measure of economies of scopeto...

We analyze the contract-based relationship between a local community and a private operator in charge of a water utility. An important feature of the regulation model is the existence of water network losses that may reduce the operator's cost. We derive solutions to the optimal contract both...

We consider the relationship between a localcommunity and a private operator in charge ofthe water utility. An important feature of themodel is the possibility of water networklosses that are costly to the operator. Wecompute the first-best and asymmetricinformation solutions to the optimal...

We study the consumers' preferences for the various attributes of a product. We consider that the consumers'choices are not guided by observed characteristics of a product, but by the quality perception consumers have on these attributes. Our model integrates this issue by means of latent...

Issues on service quality are crucial for water utility management and regulation. Omitting these aspects can lead to possible bias in estimating the efficiency of services. We integrate in a Translog cost function variables proxying this multi-dimensionality. Empirical results show that taking...

The Laboratory of Forestry economics (LEF) was created in 2000 as a joint research unit of the French Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Environmental Engineering (ENGREF) and the National Institute of Agronomic research (INRA). The mission of the LEF is to conceive, develop, and transfer...

The study raises the issues of valuing biodiversity through a national survey to improve the national accounts. Biodiversity cum species protection was explained in a telephone survey. The willingness to pay (WTP) for forest biodiversity is estimated by a Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation...

The renewal of franchise bidding for natural monopolies is often considered to be insufficiently competitive. We hypothesize that this may be due to the fact that the incumbent operator knows the existing network better than his competitors. This type of private information creates what is...

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the pricing of French water utilities. An econometric model describing both water supply and demand is specified and estimated on utilities located in the Bordeaux area. Based on the estimated technology and demand parameters, we simulate marginal-cost...