Teoría de la agencia – supuestos teóricos y evidencia empírica aplicable a la prestación del servicio público domiciliario de acueducto en Colombia

Desde la expedición de la Ley 142 de 1994 se han observado diferencias presentadas entre la calidad de los servicios públicos domiciliarios proveídos por prestadores públicos , mixtos y privados en Colombia. Lo anterior puede ser explicado a la luz de la teoría económica, en donde se encuentra que el fin de una empresa privada siempre será la maximización de beneficios y con ello, la sostenibilidad y viabilidad de la empresa en el tiempo; mientras que el de la empresa pública, a pesar de tener presiones para actuar como empresa privada en la prestación del servicio y la sostenibilidad de la empresa en el tiempo, a causa de una toma de decisiones en pro de intereses particulares, más que de intereses colectivos, puede llegar a generar resultados menos eficientes y de menor calidad para los usuarios. Sin embargo, en la literatura y en investigaciones anteriores, se han encontrado más similitudes entre las empresas –mismos resultados sin importar su naturaleza jurídica– que podrían llegar a generar, para el caso de esta investigación, resultados similares entre empresas públicas, mixtas y privadas –diferencias no significativas en la calidad del servicio prestado por las mismas–. Por esta razón, con datos de cobertura, continuidad y calidad del servicio de acueducto obtenidos del SUI y con datos de los indicadores de la Medición de Desempeño Municipal, se verificará las diferencias existentes entre la gestión de estos dos tipos de prestadores. Finalizando, se justificarán dichas divergencias principalmente con existencia de asimetrías de información en la relación principal-agente , en la falta de control y vigilancia por parte de la SSPD a los prestadores y en la presencia de incentivos de maximización de beneficios particulares, acompañados por una posible ausencia de incentivos orientados a una reducción de costos y de mejoramiento en la prestación del servicio público domiciliario de acueducto para el caso de los prestadores públicos.Since the issuance of Law 142 of 1994, differences have been observed between the quality of domiciliary public services provided by public, mixed and private providers in Colombia. The foregoing can be explained in the light of economic theory, where it is found that the end of a private company will always be the maximization of profits and with it, the sustainability and viability of the company over time; while that of the public company, despite having pressure to act as a private company in the provision of the service and the sustainability of the company over time, because of decision-making in favor of particular interests, rather than interests collective, can generate less efficient results and lower quality for users. However, in the literature and in previous research, more similarities have been found among companies - the same results, regardless of their legal nature - that could generate, for the case of this research, similar results among public, mixed and private companies. -Not significant differences in the quality of the service provided by them-. For this reason, with data on coverage, continuity and quality of the aqueduct service obtained from the SUI and with data from the Municipal Performance Measurement indicators, the differences between the management of these two types of providers will be verified. Finally, these divergences will be justified, mainly with the existence of information asymmetries in the principal-agent relationship, in the lack of control and surveillance by the SSPD to the providers and in the presence of incentives to maximize particular benefits, accompanied by a possible absence of incentives aimed at a reduction of costs and improvement in the provision of the public service of the aqueduct in the case of public providers. Since the issuance of Law 142 of 1994, differences have been observed between the quality of domiciliary public services provided by public, mixed and private providers in Colombia. The foregoing can be explained in the light of economic theory, where it is found that the end of a private company will always be the maximization of profits and with it, the sustainability and viability of the company over time; while that of the public company, despite having pressure to act as a private company in the provision of the service and the sustainability of the company over time, because of decision-making in favor of particular interests, rather than interests collective, can generate less efficient results and lower quality for users. However, in the literature and in previous research, more similarities have been found among companies - the same results, regardless of their legal nature - that could generate, for the case of this research, similar results among public, mixed and private companies. -Not significant differences in the quality of the service provided by them-. For this reason, with data on coverage, continuity and quality of the aqueduct service obtained from the SUI and with data from the Municipal Performance Measurement indicators, the differences between the management of these two types of providers will be verified. Finally, these divergences will be justified, mainly with the existence of information asymmetries in the principal-agent relationship, in the lack of control and surveillance by the SSPD to the providers and in the presence of incentives to maximize particular benefits, accompanied by a possible absence of incentives aimed at a reduction of costs and improvement in the provision of the public service of the aqueduct in the case of public providers