What does “better” mean? Perceptions of electricity and water services in Santo Domingo

What is it about?

The quality of electricity and water services in Santo Domingo is among the poorest in Latin American cities, a situation that has prevailed for decades despite the significant welfare losses associated with such infrastructure deficiencies. In this context, how do households perceive these services? What areas of improvement would mean the most to them? This paper takes a consumer-centric approach to addressing these questions, identifying specific attributes of quality and reliability by which households perceptually define what “better” means. Preliminary evidence suggests that, regardless of price, end-user satisfaction and willingness to pay are positively related to service quality.

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Why is it important?

This article focuses on identifying attributes of electricity and water services, an essential step in stated preference valuation methods.