Stated Financing Policies of Government Agencies and the Experience of Rural Water Supply Systems

摘要

A national data base of 800 water systems was used to match the stated policies of various public funding agencies (Farmers' Home Administration, Economic Development Administration, Housing and Urban Development) to the experience of their customers. The sample was representative of all rural water users in the nation. Regression analysis was used to match the experience of local communities with the stated policies. The results for the FHA serve as an example and are important because they have been the largest provider of public funds to systems serving rural people. For example, the stated policies of FMHA is to award grants or loans up to a fixed percentage of project cost; the results show that how much a water system gets does depend on how much it needs. The division of assistance between loans and grants varies with number of connections--the more connections, the larger share funded by loans. This is a direct result of interaction between the FHA policies known as the '1% rule' and the differences in income by size of community. The stated policy is to give priority to nonprofit systems with no stated difference between public and private.