Disparities in access to clean water and sanitation: institutional causes.

This paper uses cross-national data from 2002 and 2004 to assess the effects of key institutional variables on the improvement of access to safe water and sanitation. Two key variables of specific interest are a country's commitment to 'quality regulation' and the country's long-term development path. The evidence for the impact of those factors on expanding or contracting access to water and sanitation is mixed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]