Prospects for financialised water provision: going beyond public/private ownership debates

• Main Author: Teles, Nuno
• Publication Date: 2016
• Format: Other
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/40973
• topic: Financialisation; Water provision; Portugal

In the last decades, water provision has undergone profound transformations. After the disappointing results of various privatisation experiences, both in developed and developing countries, a movement towards remunicipalisation of water provision took place. However, the return to the public domain of water systems has not entailed a retreat of private capital. Through the scrutiny of recent developments in Portugal, this paper argues that financialisation of the water sector has enabled a more pervasive and enduring participation of private capital, involving multiple institutional arrangements. This resulted in the increasing capture of income from household water bills by the financial sphere. A future scenario for the financialisation of water provision is presented, identifying the various new ways whereby finance may exert an ever growing influence over the sector.