A Study on the Effect of Efficiency Improvement in Japan's Water and Sewerage Industry

Research Project

Project/Area Number	16K17107
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Economic policy
Research Institution	Fukushima University
Principal Investigator	Satoh Eiji 福島大学, 経済経営学類, 准教授 (90707233)
Research Collaborator	Izumida Shigemi 東北大学, 大学院経済学研究科
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,250,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥750,000) Fiscal Year 2018: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Keywords	上下水道事業 / 水利権 / 事業広域化 / 上水道事業 / 下水道事業 / 効率化 / 経済政策
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This study examines the effect of efficiency improvement in Japan's water and sewerage industry. This study focuses on the regulatory scheme of the water rights and integration of water and sewerage utilities. The purpose of this study is that reallocation of water rights or integration of water and sewerage utilities could improve efficiency and achieve cost savings. I collected and summarized data about water and sewerage utilities and surveyed merged water and sewerage utilities, and consequently wrote a academic paper. It has been accepted for publication in Water Economics and Policy and will be forthcoming.
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	本研究の結果によると，水利権の固定的配分によって水道事業が非効率となり柔軟な配分を行うことで効率性が改善される．これは，水利権制度の具体的な改革を提案するものである．また，多くの国・地域も日本と同様に水利権配分を固定的とする水利権制度であり，本研究結果を英文査読雑誌で出版することによって，水利権制度の問題を国際的に共有し国際的な水利権制度改革の指針となると思われる．さらに，具体的な上水道事業効率化方針を提示したことで，財政問題の解決策の一助になると考えられる．