Title: Economic complexity and basic sanitation: an econometric investigation regarding water and sewage services in Brazilian municipalities

Authors: Pedro Augusto Bertucci Lima; Gilberto Dias Paião Junior; Thalita Lacerda dos Santos; Marcelo Furlan; Diogo Ferraz

Addresses: Department of Production Engineering, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Engineering of Bauru, Campus, Bauru, Brazil ' Department of Production Engineering, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Engineering of Bauru, Campus, Bauru, Brazil ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Engineering of Bauru, Bauru, Brazil ' Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), São José dos Campos, Brazil ' Department of Production Engineering, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Engineering of Bauru, Campus, Bauru, Brazil; Department of Economics (DEECO), Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), Ouro Preto, Brazil; Department of Innovation Economics, University of Hohenheim, Germany

Abstract: Economic complexity investigates the influence of production sophistication on economic growth, human development, and sustainability. However, scarce attention has been done to the influence of complexity on the quality and treatment of sanitary issues, especially in developing regions. For this reason, this article aims to analyse the influence of the Economic Complexity Index on the water and sewage services in Brazilian municipalities. This article used an econometric model with panel data, focusing on four aspects related to water and sewage: water coverage, water quality, sewage coverage, and sewage treatment. The results indicate that regions with a more sophisticated productive structure present better water and sewage coverage levels. However, a sophisticated productive structure did not corroborate to a better water quality nor sewage treatment. This study corroborates with policymakers revealing that the productive structure provides water and sewage access, but it is not adequate in providing water quality and sewage treatment.

Keywords: production structure; sanitation; water; sewage; sustainability.

DOI: 10.1504/LAJMSD.2023.135736

Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development, 2023 Vol.6 No.2, pp.188 - 208

Received: 01 Sep 2023
Accepted: 11 Oct 2023
Published online: 03 Jan 2024 *

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