Has urban water privatization worked in the Global South?

This thesis seeks to determine whether urban water privatization has worked in the Global South. As water is required for domestic purposes, privatization is a contentious reform in most countries. Water privatization is investigated in six different prominent Global South cities to determine whether it has led to improvements over the previous publicly-provided water models. A comparative qualitative analysis of contracts, governance, contextual factors, and outcomes is conducted along with a partial quantitative analysis comparing water coverage, consumption and pricing before and after privatization. The results generally show that water privatization has mainly failed to improve water services beyond levels attained during previous public water services. There are a few exceptions though, highlighting both the complexities of delivering water service and a general lack of easily verifiable information to clearly compare the water models. --Leaf. ii.