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In a context of an increasing water scarcity, urbanization processes should be adapted to the additional costs of network extension, to provide an access to this resource. This paper aims to identify the determinants of waste induced by the water distribution system in Nantes Metropole between 2013 and 2017. It raises several issues of collective interest. How to measure the relative performance of water distribution systems? Which contextual parameters influence the performance of networks and waste of water? Do some urbanization and managerial procedures should be promoted to reduce water leaks? An applied Data Envelopment Analysis benchmark based on network length and number of consumers allows us to measure the impact of network density and management structure on water leaks. Thus, the comparative study of efficiency between municipalities shows that low-density networks are subject to more water loss during water delivery, especially when subscribers are dispersed. In addition, management by the public sector in Nantes Métropole is less efficient than the private one regarding water losses. This disparity stems from the ability of the private sector to manage complex networks thanks to significant internal skills for municipalities of all sizes. These water leaks represent an economic and an environmental cost for both consumers and suppliers. If network maintenance can be profitable in the long term, short-term rationality can underpin the non-intervention of suppliers because of the very high and dissuasive costs of remediation. The current increasing water scarcity raises the question of the legal framework of these excessive losses. The discussion is therefore open on the establishment of regulatory instruments such as taxes or quotas to promote maintenance of distribution networks for a sustainable long-term remediation.JEL Classification: L95, Q01, Q25, R10, R15.

This study based on a household survey quantifies, for the first time, the impact of small water supply networks on household water access conditions in rural areas in Niger. Niger is a very poor Sahelian country suffering from climate change. We use the propensity-score matching method to analyse data from a survey carried out in 2017. In order to perform a rigorous impact analysis, we compare water access conditions in 10 randomly selected villages, two of which are beneficiaries of small water supply networks and eight of which are not. Thus, the sample includes 596 households. The results of the matching method are different from those obtained by a simple difference in means between the two groups. We lead robustness analysis to reduce the bias due to unobservable characteristics. We obtain similar and conclusive results with respect to the baseline specifications. This legitimises the value of the impact assessment method for providing unbiased estimates for policy makers. The article shows that the water supply networks have improved the water access conditions such as its cost (which must be accessible to all) and its availability, which are key vectors for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The lack of immediate availability of drinking water increases the distance to water sources and the time spent on collecting water, to the detriment of children's school attendance, especially for girls, and women income-generating activities, as well as the time spent on educational activities. Clearly, this study shows that policies which target the implementation of small water supply networks in rural areas would generate a real impact in terms of poverty alleviation for rural households.

Public-Social Solidarity Economy Partnerships (PPESS) are now booming in France. They contribute to the implementation of a public action that relies more and more on the organizations of the social and solidarity economy (OESS). Two laws have made a significant contribution in recent years: the Hamon law, which brings recognition and national legitimacy to the SSE and aims to change its scale; the NOTRe law, which redefines the competencies and attributions of the various levels of public government to strengthen the role of the regions in carrying out territorial development strategies. The purpose of this contribution is to analyze the effects of the changes at work. An empirical study is conducted in a comparative perspective on the regions of Grand-Est and Normandie. It questions representatives of large structures (public and SSE) in the two regions on the basis of four topics: two of them refer to the characteristics and effects of the Hamon law (the economic dominance; the Citizen dimension in the SSE); two others to the NOTRe law (the influence of actors in the co-construction of regional public action; its territorial anchorage). A Textual Discourse Analysis allows us to understand the similarities and differences in the perceptions and specifications of the effects of regional policies resulting from the application of reforms. This analysis reveals profound transformations in regional policies and their reliance on the SSE: the territorial and partnership dynamics underway are part of a process marked by the differentiation in France of regional policies and PSSEPs, and thus of the collective action paradigm. Although hindsight on the process at work is still short, we can see the beginnings of a competition by comparison between regional models, which could have a strong influence in the future in terms of the paradigm of collective action.

The development of cultural territorial projects appears to be a means for differentiating and increasing attractiveness (Plaza, 2000). However, the conditions for the development and success of these projects seem to differ based on whether they concern urban or rural areas, and the latter are yet little studied (Delfosse, 2015; Férérol, 2017). In order to understand the process of developing a cultural project for a mountain area and to identify the managerial modalities at work, we propose to mobilize a management theoretical framework: the theory of resources. From the study of two cases, we show that the development of a regional cultural project is a complex process which requires the mobilization of a large ecosystem of actors but above all of resources; resources that must be promoted by the actors at very specific times during the project. From a managerial point of view, the study shows that it is crucial to foster partnerships with local associations and businesses in order to anchor the project in the territory. The need to strengthen the participation of the civil society in cultural territorial projects (CTP) thus clearly appears as a guarantee of their legitimacy and can be facilitated by a wide communication of economic and social impacts. In addition, in order to ensure the promotion of the cultural offer, it seems relevant to develop a system of "ambassadors" where the inhabitants and recurrent visitors can share their experience and thus increase the notoriety and visibility of the offer and thus ultimately of the territory.

The analysis of the cycles of major macroeconomic aggregates is important for policy-makers and analysts not only at a national level but also at a regional level and even at a departmental level. Indeed, this cyclical analysis can inform and identify the idiosyncratic characteristics of a territory. The aim of this article is to study the monthly cycle of jobseekers in the Pays de la Loire region and its departments by examining both businesses, also known as the classical cycle. Following the theoretical and empirical foundations of the National Bureau of Economic Research and the seminal work of Burns and Mitchell, we propose a monthly chronology of these cycles during the period 1996-2019. In addition, we examine in detail the characteristics of the duration, amplitude and depth of employment cycles. We also calculate an innovative measure of department synchronisation using the modified Moran Index. The results show that some departments are more affected by economic recessions and therefore lag behind in exiting the "expansion", also known as the turning point of the cycle. To conclude, we found that departmental cycles in the Pays de la Loire region were more synchronised after 2008. We believe that the creation of Pôle Emploi, the national employment agency in charge of unemployment compensation and jobseeker assistance, is partly responsible for improving intra-departmental cyclical synchronisation. Indeed, the integration of skills in job placement and monitoring of jobseekers with this compensation would have had a positive effect on local coordination allowing for greater effectiveness of employment policies in general.

In the context of increasing mobility and digitization in society, we focus on the current commercial transformation of Parisian railway stations, which are being transformed into commercial spaces, and are contributing to the growth of the Travel Retail sector. To understand what types of experiences are available for travellers using new generation railway stations, we anchor our research in the experiential marketing field from the perspective of the organizations managing experiences. We mobilize two concepts renewed in a digital context: the concept of situation, and the concept of touch points along the customer journey design. We deploy a complete qualitative data collection towards the stakeholders in charge of the commercial transformation of railway stations in France, and through ethnographic participant and non-participant observations in Parisian stations. Results reveal four experiential situations available for individuals in stations: the travel, consumption, personal, and professional situations. Each situation is thus characterized by the roles of the participants, and specific spatio-temporal dimensions. A constellation of touchpoints controlled by the leader player SNCF, by its commercial partners, by the individuals themselves or by external actors, allow a diversified and digitalized journey for travellers in station. The role of the smartphone is crucial to pass from a situation to another and to assure the continuity between the experiences offered. These results not only bring a framework actualized in line with mobiquitus behaviours and tools, but also highlight the necessary balance between merchant and free activities so that the station fills its five functions in its area, and finally argue for a shared development strategy between SNCF, its commercial partners, city-managers and users unions.