Read more
Population growth and rising living standards, on the one hand, and changing climate, on the other hand, have exacerbated water scarcity worldwide. To address this problem, policymakers need to take a wide view of the water economy - a complex structure involving environmental, social, economic, legal, and institutional aspects. A coherent water policy must look at the water economy as a whole and apply a comprehensive approach to policy interventions. Written by two of the world's leading scholars on economics of water, this is the first graduate-level textbook on the topic. The book discusses water resource management within a comprehensive framework that integrates the different, yet highly entwined, elements of a water economy. It follows the steps needed to develop a well-designed set of policies based on detailed analyses of intervention measures, using multi-sectoral and economy-wide examples from a variety of locations and situations around the world.
List of contents
1. The state of water resources and the need for a comprehensive perspective; 2. The water economy; 3. Supply costs, demands and benefits; 4. Optimal water policy; 5. Water regulation; 6. Conjunctive use; 7. Case studies of regulatory interventions; 8. Economy-wide considerations of water management; 9. Management of transboundary water; Index.
About the author
Ariel Dinar is Distinguished Professor of Environmental Economics and Policy at the School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside. He served as lead economist on water and climate change for the World Bank. He is the editor-in-chief of the journal Water Economics and Policy. He is an International Fellow of the Center for Agricultural Economic Research of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a Fulbright Senior Specialist, and a 2015 Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
Summary
Upper-level undergraduate and graduate students with a solid background in economic principles and methods will benefit from understanding the role of the comprehensive framework outlined. Water policy practitioners will also learn from the empirical aspects and policy discussions, and from the case studies included.
Additional text
'This book develops a water economy edifice, which breaks through the traditional methodology to incorporate natural, social, and economic aspects, as well as hydrological and hydraulic factors, into the analysis framework. This brings the study of the economy of water resources into a more inclusive system.' Dajun Shen, Renmin University of China
