Co-production and inequality: collection and waste in popular neighborhoods of the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires

Abstract

| This paper discusses the relationship between co-production of services at the local level and inequality. In this regard, we question: What forms does the local provi-sion of services regularly assume where civil society is poor and the State is weak? What results does it produce at the regional level? To answer these questions, we performed 97 semi-structured interviews with local officials and analyzed data on the collection and intermediate disposal of waste in slums of the 41 districts of the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires, from secondary sources. The data shows that a great variety of actors co-pro-duce services of lower quality and extension compared to those produced by the State alone or through private companies. Additionally, these services achieve different results at the local level, favoring unequal access to services at the aggregate or regional level.