ABSTRACT
Growing scarcity of freshwater worldwide brings to light the need for sound water resource modeling and policy analysis. While a solid foundation has been established for many specific water management problems, combining those methods and principles in a unified framework remains an ongoing challenge. This Handbook aims to expand the scope of efficient water use to include allocation of sources and quantities across uses and time, as well as integrating demand-management with supply-side substitutes.
Socially efficient water use does not generally coincide with private decisions in the real world, however. Examples of mechanisms designed to incentivize efficient behavior are drawn from agricultural water use, municipal water regulation, and externalities linked to water resources. Water management is further complicated when information is costly and/or imperfect. Standard optimization frameworks are extended to allow for coordination costs, games and cooperation, and risk allocation. When operating efficiently, water markets are often viewed as a desirable means of allocation because a market price incentivizes users to move resources from low to high value activities. However, early attempts at water trading have run into many obstacles. Case studies from the United States, Australia, Europe, and Canada highlight the successes and remaining challenges of establishing efficient water markets.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |2 pages
Part I Principles and overview
chapter |27 pages
Global outlook for water scarcity, food security, and hydropower
chapter |10 pages
Water scarcity and the demand for water markets
chapter |10 pages
Ordering extraction from multiple aquifers
chapter |16 pages
Optimal conjunctive water use over space and time
part |2 pages
Part II Private behavior and regulatory design
chapter |12 pages
Strategic behavior and regulation over time and space
chapter |9 pages
Water allocation under distribution losses: a perspective
chapter |11 pages
The good, bad, and ugly of watershed management
chapter |23 pages
Externalities and water quality
part |2 pages
Part III Institutions and information
chapter |20 pages
Towards an economics of irrigation networks
chapter |18 pages
Water scarcity and water institutions
chapter |15 pages
Managing climate risks through water trading
part |2 pages
Part IV Water markets and institutions around the world