Introduction:

The management of basic sanitation services in Peru is considered a high priority public policy.

Objective:

To estimate the economic benefits of an improvement in the provision of basic sanitation services (water, sewage and wastewater treatment) in Puno, Peru.

Materials and methods:

The economic benefits were estimated from data obtained in a survey of 392 heads of family. The econometric estimates were made through a choice experiment with multinomial logit and mixed logit models.

Results and discussion:

An aggregate marginal willingness to pay of 9.95 PEN (3.32 USD) per month per dwelling was estimated; if the total number of favored households is considered, this amount represents a measure of economic benefit. The wastewater treatment attribute is more valued than the water and sewage provision attributes. With respect to the models used, the mixed logit-dummy codes model presented greater theoretical consistency of the results.

Conclusion:

The choice of options for improving basic sanitation services is strongly conditioned by the educational level and monthly income of the users. Any policy aimed at improving basic sanitation services in the city of Puno should focus on solving the issue of wastewater treatment.