Water Reforms, Decentralization and Child Mortality in Colombia, 1990–2005

SummaryThis paper attempts to determine the municipal level impact of the 1994 Law 142 water and sewerage services reforms on child mortality and service coverage. The objective of these reforms was to transfer service provision from the municipalities to specialized companies. These reforms were undertaken within the 1990s decentralization process which established that the provision of water and sewerage services was the responsibility of local governments. The results obtained indicate that municipalities that reformed exhibit a slower reduction of child mortality rates and lower increases in water coverage than the ones that did not reform.