Water scarcity, prices and quotas: a review of evidence on irrigation volumetric pricing
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Title |
Water scarcity, prices and quotas: a review of evidence on irrigation volumetric pricing
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Creator |
Molle, Francois
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Subject |
water scarcity
water rates pricing economic aspects irrigation schemes water demand water users associations water allocation |
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Description |
Underpricing of irrigation water is frequently identified as a primary cause of excessive use of water for irrigation. Higher prices are believed to have the potential to promote conservation. Changes in user behavior are predicated on a quantitative relationship between water charges and the volume use, but volumetric management is quite rare in practice. This paper reviews irrigation schemes that combine conditions of water scarcity and volumetric pricing, either at the bulk or individual level, and provides clear evidence that scarcity is almost invariably dealt with through the definition of quotas. In contrast to the large theoretical literature that has promoted price-based regulation as a key instrument of water demand management, it appears that prices are mostly used to regulate use at the margin, beyond the quota, rather than for rationing scarce water. This is an important role but one that falls short of efficiency pricing. The advantages and drawbacks of quotas are discussed, and an interpretation of why they are selected in practice is given.
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Date |
2009-02
2014-06-13T14:48:06Z 2014-06-13T14:48:06Z |
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Type |
Journal Article
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Identifier |
Molle, Francois. 2009. Water scarcity, prices and quotas: a review of evidence on irrigation volumetric pricing. Irrigation and Drainage Systems, 23(1):43-58. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10795-009-9065-y
0168-6291 1573-0654 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40643 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10795-009-9065-y |
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Language |
en
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Rights |
Copyrighted; all rights reserved
Limited Access |
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Publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
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