Computing utilities are emerging as an important part of the infrastructure for outsourcing computer services. Fundamental to outsourcing is the notion of quality of service, which is defined by service level agreements (SLAs) between the computing utilities and clients. One of the major objectives of computing utilities is to maximize their net profit while maintaining customer loyalty. To ach...

Based on neo-regionalist literature, this paper put on the foreground the importance of public utilities in the “governance” processes. New economic and cultural trends need the abandon of a hierarchical model of government in favour of the governance model, based on organizational structures of partnership and/or of open market. A first step in governance process is the decentralization, or “d...

In a polarized political setting, public policy towards the water sector evolves in response to pressures. The Bolivian experience provides lessons for other nations. First, technical skills are necessary, but not sufficient for regulatory sustainability. In addition, those implementing policy must think politically without being political. To establish incentives for good sector performance, p...

The U.S. Acid Rain Program is one of the first, and by far the most extensive, applications of a market based approach to pollution control. From the beginning, there has been concern whether utilities would participate in allowance trading, and whether regulatory activity at the state level would further complicate utilities' decision to trade allowances. This paper finds that public utility c...