Eficiencia en la provisión de agua potable: un análisis de frontera estocástica
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24850/j-tyca-2025-04-09Palabras clave:
eficiencia técnica, agua, frontera estocástica, costo, EcuadorResumen
Entender que rol juegan los diversos factores que explican la eficiencia técnica resulta fundamental para establecer los marcos regulatorios y políticas enfocadas en mejorar los niveles de eficiencia, especialmente en la prestación de servicios públicos, como el suministro de agua potable. Este estudio tiene como objetivo calcular el nivel de eficiencia técnica orientada a los costos de los proveedores del servicio de agua potable del Ecuador y analizar sus determinantes. Para ello, se aplicó el método paramétrico análisis de frontera estocástica (SFA, por sus siglas en inglés) utilizando datos del año 2019 de la “Estadística de información ambiental económica en gobiernos autónomos descentralizados municipales” publicada por el Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos (INEC). Los resultados muestran que los proveedores de agua potable en Ecuador podrían ahorrar sus costos y, al mismo tiempo, mantener el nivel de producción de agua potable actual. Entre los factores que explican a la eficiencia se encuentra el nivel económico del cantón, la densidad de clientes, el nivel de fuentes de extracción de agua, y la necesidad de bombeo en la provisión del servicio. Finalmente, se sugiere que las políticas públicas de mejora de la eficiencia centradas en dichos factores se realicen promoviendo la cooperación e intercambio de experiencias entre los proveedores.
Citas
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