The Role of Government in Water Markets / Edition 1

by Vanessa Casado-Perez

Overview

While water is an increasingly scarce resource, most existing methods to allocate it are neither economically nor environmentally efficient. In these circumstances, water markets offer developed countries a form of regulatory response capable of overcoming many of the shortcomings of current water management.

The debate on water markets is, however, a polarized one. This is mostly a result of the misunderstanding of the roles played by governments in water markets. Proponents mistakenly portrayed them as leaving governments, for the most part, out of the picture. Opponents, in turn, understand commodification of water and administration by public agencies as incompatible. Casado Pérez argues that both sides of the debate overlook that water markets require a deeper and more varied governmental intervention than markets for other goods. Drawing on economic theories of regulation based on market failure, she explains the different roles governments should play to ensure a well-functioning water market, and concludes that only the visible hand of governments can ensure the success of water markets.

Casado Pérez proves her case by examining case studies of California and Spain to assess the success of their water markets. She explores why water markets were more extensively institutionalized in California than in Spain in the first ten years since their introduction and how the role of governments in each case study impacted water market operation.

This unique analysis of governmental roles in water markets, alongside qualitative studies of California and Spain, offers valuable guidance to understand environmental markets and to face the challenges presented by water management in regions with periodical droughts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138655744
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/15/2016
Pages:	263
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Vanessa Casado Pérez is an associate professor at the Texas A&M School of Law and an affiliated scholar at the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University. Her research focuses on property law and management of natural resources, particularly water.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements, Most frequently used acronyms, 1. Scarcity, droughts, and the gap to be filled by water markets, 2. Market failures and governmental roles, 3. Roadmap to the case studies, 4. California’s water markets, 5. Spain’s water markets, 6. Comparison between water markets in California and in Spain, Index

Editorial Reviews

"Drawing on the experiences with water scarcity in California and Spain, Vanessa Casado Perez dispels the simplistic notion that water markets and centralized control are polar opposites. In fact. both require substantial government involvement in choosing their goals and specific features. This is a insightful book about an increasing critical issue in the context of climate change." Bruce Cain, Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and the Spence and Cleone Eccles Family Director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West.

Water is both our simplest and most complex resource. In her comprehensive treatment of the subject Vanessa Casado-Perez develops a comprehensive economic approach that captures both the similarities and differences in water rights regimes, and applies them carefully to both Californian and Spanish water markets. This book should prove an indispensable resource to lawyers, economists, environmentalists and others concerned with this vital topic.

Richard Epstein, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, and Director, Classical Liberal Institute.

From the Publisher