Evolution of performance in the water and sewage sector in Brazil: a robust directional Benefit-of-the-Doubt assessment of municipalities from Santa Catarina state
本研究基于稳健 Benefit-of-the-Doubt 方法构建复合指标，评估巴西圣卡塔琳娜州各市镇2009至2021年供水与污水处理服务的绩效演变，发现平均绩效下降3.3%，各市镇差异显著。
Abstract The water supply and sewage sector (WSS) is essential for promoting health and providing the population with drinking water and the adequate disposal of effluents. Assessing the evolution of performance in WSS allows for highlighting the best and worst results achieved, identifying benchmarks, and pinpointing sources of improvement for water services. Brazil has a large population and immense freshwater reserves that are unevenly distributed throughout the territory. This situation emanates a challenge that requires the efficient management of water resources. This study develops a composite indicator framework based on the robust Benefit-of-the-Doubt (BoD) approach to estimate the performance of municipalities of the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina from 2009 to 2021, considering financial, operational, and quality dimensions associated with the provision of WSS services. Subsequently, the Global Malmquist Index (GMI) is applied to assess the performance evolution of the municipalities over time. The BoD results enable the quantification of the relative contribution of each sub-indicator to the performance score, allowing the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each municipality. The GMI results show an average performance loss of 3.3% in Santa Catarina state and considerable variability among municipalities, with scores ranging from losses of 54.2% to gains of 109.3% in the period analysed.