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Determinants of the capital structure of municipal water utility systems: an empirical study of Texas public water systems

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TitleInfo
Title
Determinants of the capital structure of municipal water utility systems: an empirical study of Texas public water systems
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Jn-Marie
NamePart (type = given)
Monique
NamePart (type = date)
1964-
DisplayForm
Monique Jn-Marie
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
author
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Riccucci
NamePart (type = given)
Norma
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Norma Riccucci
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Advisory Committee
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RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
chair
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Van Ryzin
NamePart (type = given)
Gregg
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Gregg Van Ryzin
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Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Rubin
NamePart (type = given)
Marilyn
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Marilyn Rubin
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Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Coleman
NamePart (type = given)
Henry
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Henry Coleman
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
outside member
Name (type = corporate)
NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name (type = corporate)
NamePart
Graduate School - Newark
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school
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Text
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theses
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2019
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2019-10
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2019
Language
LanguageTerm (authority = ISO 639-3:2007); (type = text)
English
Abstract (type = abstract)
During the past several decades, increasing awareness of public infrastructure deterioration has elevated the importance of ensuring quality water systems. Though regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ensuring long-term sustainability of the nation’s fragmented water infrastructure and funding-related costs are largely the responsibility of municipal governments. In 2013, the EPA reported that aging drinking water pipes may cost $384 billion to repair or replace and sustain through 2030. Various factors are considered before accessing capital, each with its own motivations and consequences to the system’s risk profile. The purpose of this study was to understand the key financial and contextual determinants of municipal water systems’ capital structure, expressed as leverage. Through the lens of capital structure theories, the quantitative study involved ordinary least squares regression to examine the extent of, and directional relationship between, leverage and seven firm-level determinants: profitability, growth, liquidity, size, risk, tangibility, and age. An ANOVA allowed for examination of differences in the context of the service area population size, and ancillary analysis measured differences in leverage before, during, and after the Great Recession of 2008–2009. The most significant relationships with leverage were between liquidity and age, which supports pecking order theory assertions that the use of retained earnings is preferable to debt. Qualitative assessment of management discussions and capital improvement plans identified key elements of funding decisions that affect leverage. Additionally, although leverage of the systems serving the largest populations surpasses that of mid-range systems, those serving the smallest populations are far more leveraged than their counterparts. Qualitative findings indicated that operating margins, financial flexibility, socioeconomic considerations, contingency reserves, and debt carry the most weight in influencing funding decisions because of their collective influence on their credit risk profile. The effects of climate-related events on infrastructure and water resources factor into policy implications. A need exists for scalable and replicable subnational and municipal efforts for modernization of the water sector, data availability for better capital budgeting, and expansion of pooled financial resources, particularly for systems that lack ready access to the debt market.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Public Administration (SPAA)
Subject (authority = local)
Topic
Capital structure
Subject (authority = LCSH)
Topic
Municipal water supply -- Texas -- Appropriations and expenditures
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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ETD
Identifier
ETD_10153
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application/pdf
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text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (x, 110 pages) : illustrations
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
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TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - Newark Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore10002600001
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NjNbRU
Identifier (type = doi)
doi:10.7282/t3-3zwb-rd49
Genre (authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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Rights

RightsDeclaration (ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
RightsHolder (type = personal)
Name
FamilyName
Jn-Marie
GivenName
Monique
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent
Type
Permission or license
DateTime (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact); (point = start)
2019-08-05 15:52:27
AssociatedEntity
Name
Monique Jn-Marie
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - Newark
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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Technical

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2019-08-23T22:52:17
DateCreated (point = end); (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact)
2019-08-23T22:52:17
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