Public or private

An old one from the Economist. Thanks to Tim Worstall for the pointer. The best way of supplying water and a natural experiment.

Water industry | Frozen taps | Economist.com:

"PRIVATISED in England, a mutual in Wales, a nationalised industry in Scotland and a government department in Northern Ireland—there is no better proving ground for different ideas about utility provision than Britain's water industry. "

The Scottish water was more expensive, less clean and there were more leaks in 2003 (when the article was written).

"“Essentially, the service was run by engineers,” says Alan Alexander, chairman of Scottish Water, a new company formed in 2002 by a merger of three regional state-owned utilities. “No-one gave much thought to economics.” Politics has also played a role. The utility has been in thrall to trade unions, so it is over-manned. And the need to keep politicians sweet may explain why business charges have risen so much faster than the domestic bills most voters pay"