This paper estimates the impact of improvements to water network infrastructure on the take-up of
municipal water services in the Kyrgyz Republic. We also assess the intention-to-treat impacts of these
infrastructure improvements on households’ willingness to pay for improved water services, and on their time use.
Fresh water is an increasingly scarce resource across the world. To prevent excessive
water usage, broad participation in appropriately priced municipal water infrastructure
and services is necessary. This paper estimates the impact of improvements
to water network infrastructure on the take-up of municipal water services in the
Kyrgyz Republic. We also assess the intention-to-treat impacts of these infrastructure
improvements on households’ willingness to pay for improved water services,
and on their time use. We find that infrastructure improvements induce take-up of
municipal water taps, but do not generate time savings. The adoption of taps is
nevertheless associated with an increase in bathing time, which may mean higher
water consumption. New customers also update their willingness to pay after gaining
experience with municipal tap connections: they become more willing to pay for
better water pressure but less willing to pay for fewer and shorter service outages. They benefited from early comments from William Parienté, Ralph De Haas and participants in the the
8th Annual Life in Kyrgyzstan Conference (2022).
