Public provision of water and wastewater services in urban India has been a noteworthy failure, often providing service that ranges from non-existent to unreliable. Over the past decade, a number of reforms were undertaken that focused on infrastructure construction and urban governance, including broader use of public–private partnerships (PPPs). We examine a new data set of 163 water and wastewater PPP contracts initiated during 1999-2012 to study the determinants of a city’s decision to invite varying amounts of private participation though a PPP agreement. Cities with larger populations, better PPP regulatory environments, regional party rule, and lower sanitation scores are associated with higher levels of private participation through PPPs. Indian municipalities have often failed to engage the public before and during contract discussions, sometimes resulting in lukewarm public support for PPPs. Our findings highlight the role of cities’ socioeconomic indicators in determining the type of PPP contract undertaken.
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