Edward Glaeser

Privatisation: A Formula for Provision or Perversion of Municipal Solid Waste Management?

cprurban2015 Updates ,
Brooks Anderson, June 2011

Over the past decade, the Indian government has encouraged localities to privatise municipal solid waste management (MSWM), an essential public service that local bodies have tended to perform inadequately. Surprisingly, the reasons for, and consequences of this major change in governance have been subjected to far less scrutiny than is warranted by its significance. This paper compares the theory and expectations of privatisation with the performance record of privatised public services in several countries in order to inform and stimulate scrutiny of India’s determination to privatise MSWM.

Advocates of privatisation of municipal solid waste management promote privatisation as a recently devised solution for many of the problems plaguing government-run services. For example, USAID claims that privatisation offers “cost savings, new technologies, improvements in efficiency and effectiveness and reduction in the need for permanent sanitation staff. . . . This new approach, which emphasizes commercial viability, enables Indian cities and urban authorities to respond more effectively to the greatest needs: increasing access to services and improving service levels. Significant benefits for the poor, in particular, can be achieved through a commercial orientation” (USAID 1999:1 & 4).

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Making Sense of Bangalore (Edward L. Glaeser)

cprurban2015 Updates ,
Edward Glaeser is among today’s most widely acclaimed urban economists, who has long argued for the benefits of  agglomeration in cities and a fan of Bengaluru’s growth.  In this article, published by the Legatum Institute he shows why he thinks that Bengaluru is a “model of how an urban agglomeration can bring prosperity to a poor country”. His most recent publication is Triumph of the City.

Abstract of the Report
Bangalore is among the most successful cities in India and the developing world. Its population growth has been dramatic and it has generated vast amounts of wealth and prosperity. Bangalore’s economic success reflects the ability of cities to connect smart people who then work together and learn from one another. In the developing world, places like Bangalore also serve as conduits for knowledge and capital and services across continents. The vitality of Bangalore contrasts vividly with the continuing poverty of rural India. That contrast reminds us that cities are a crucial part of economic development. It makes far more sense to directly address the challenges of urban growth, such as unclean water and congestion, rather than to artificially constrain the expansion of mega-cities like Bangalore.