Evolution of performance in the water and sewage sector in Brazil: a robust directional Benefit-of-the-Doubt assessment of municipalities from Santa Catarina state

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2024-10-05

Authors

Hermilio Vilarinho Fernandes (Author) FEUP; Ana Maria Cunha Ribeiro dos Santos Ponces Camanho (Author) FEUP; Andréia May (Author) Other; Carlos Ernani Fries (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Annals of Operations Research

ISSN: 0254-5330

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 1 Citation

Scopus - 1 Citation

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-017-4NC

DOI: 10.1007/s10479-024-06321-w

Abstract (EN): The water supply and sewage sector (WSS) is essential for promoting health and providing the population with drinking water and the adequate disposal of effluents. Assessing the evolution of performance in WSS allows for highlighting the best and worst results achieved, identifying benchmarks, and pinpointing sources of improvement for water services. Brazil has a large population and immense freshwater reserves that are unevenly distributed throughout the territory. This situation emanates a challenge that requires the efficient management of water resources. This study develops a composite indicator framework based on the robust Benefit-of-the-Doubt (BoD) approach to estimate the performance of municipalities of the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina from 2009 to 2021, considering financial, operational, and quality dimensions associated with the provision of WSS services. Subsequently, the Global Malmquist Index (GMI) is applied to assess the performance evolution of the municipalities over time. The BoD results enable the quantification of the relative contribution of each sub-indicator to the performance score, allowing the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each municipality. The GMI results show an average performance loss of 3.3% in Santa Catarina state and considerable variability among municipalities, with scores ranging from losses of 54.2% to gains of 109.3% in the period analysed.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 47