Water: Economics and Policy

By Brian Roach, Anne-Marie Codur and Jonathan M. Harris

This teaching module, based on Chapter 20 of Harris and Roach’s textbook, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: A Contemporary Approach, discusses theories and policies to promote sustainable water management. It presents current data on global water demand and scarcity, and introduces the concepts of virtual water and water footprints. It assesses approaches for increasing water supplies, including groundwater, dams, and desalination. The potential for water use efficiency and behavioral policies are also discussed.

The module explains how water pricing can be used to promote conservation, including different types of block pricing. The advantages and disadvantages of water rights alternatives, water markets, and water privatization are summarized. The module concludes with a discussion of the benefits of managing water as a common property resource.

 Access French Translation (2015 Module)

*Note that the French Translation is based on the older 2015 version of this module.