Abstract

AMAYA VENTURA, Ma. de Lourdes. Public Action, Institutions and Effectiveness of Cooperation Mechanisms in Aguascalientes' Water Management System. Gest. polít. pública [online]. 2010, vol.19, n.1, pp.37-77. ISSN 1405-1079.

This article's proposal is about analyzing the water management system in Aguascalientes using two analytical approaches that complement each other: the public action analysis and the new institutionalism in economics. The public action analysis is a sociological approach that studies the dynamic between governmental and non-governmental actors in problem solving. The institutional analysis allows us to review the framework of that public action. These theoretical tools are applied to the study of water concession in Aguascalientes, particularly the crisis that it experienced in 1996. The analysis involves changes in formal and informal rules, the emerging of new actors, coordination and cooperation mechanisms and some performing indicators of the service. The article concludes emphasizing some lessons that could be learned from the understanding of the nature of the public action generated around the water management system in Aguascalientes.

Keywords : water management; local and municipal government; public services; public administration.