Performance and Regulatory Policy for the Privatization of China's Urban Public Utilities

The book is structured into four parts. Part I, comprising chapters 1-3, explores the backgrounds and motives of private operation of urban public utilities, analyzes the history and current status of private operations, and constructs the performance evaluation system. Part II includes chapter 4 and chapter 5. Recognizing that private operation of urban public utilities and government regulation are highly interdependent, this part investigates the negative effects that may arise from private operation of public utilities as well as their causes, analyzes the demand for government regulations on private operations, and discusses the supply of government regulations in terms of regulatory system, regulatory institutions, and regulatory policies. Part III is composed of chapters 6, 7, and 8. This part focuses on three public utility areas: urban water supply, gas pipeline, and garbage disposal. It investigates the technical and economic features and the current status of private operation reforms in these three areas, evaluates the performance of private operation in each area, and explores the main contents of government regulations and policies in each utility area. Chapter 9 is treated as an independent part of the book. Based on the summary and analyses about the success and problems in private operation of China's urban public utilities, this last part provides some basic ideas that can be used to promote and deepen the reforms of private operation of urban public utilities.