Use Of Economic Instruments In Water Policy

This book assesses both the effectiveness and efficiency of implemented Economic Policy Instruments (EPIs) in order to achieve water policy goals and identifies the preconditions under which they outperform alternative (e.g. regulatory) policy instruments and/or can complement them as part of complex policy mixes. The development of a consolidated assessment framework helps clarify (and where possible, quantify) the effectiveness of each EPI on the basis of different criteria. Outcome-oriented criteria describe how the EPIs perform. They include intended and unintended economic and environmental outcomes and the distribution of benefits and costs among the affected parties. These steps consider the application of cost effectiveness and cost benefits analysis, e.g. to assess ex-post performance of the EPI. Process criteria describe the institutional conditions (legislative, political, cultural, etc.) affecting the formation and operation of the EPI studied (particularly relevant for assessing the possible impacts of using economic instruments), the transaction costs involved in implementing and enforcing the instruments and the process of implementation. Case studies from Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as from Australia, Chile, Israel and the USA are presented in this book. A wide variety of EPIs are also covered, including water-pricing schemes (tariffs, environmental taxes, environmental charges or fees, subsidies on products and practices), trading schemes (tradable permits for abstraction and pollution) and cooperation mechanisms.

This book assesses both the effectiveness and efficiency of implemented Economic Policy Instruments (EPIs) in order to achieve water policy goals, and identifies the preconditions under which they outperform alternative (e.g. regulatory) policy instruments and/or can complement them as part of complex policy mixes. The development of a consolidated assessment framework helps clarify (and where possible, quantify) the effectiveness of each EPI on the basis of different criteria. Outcome-oriented criteria describe how the EPIs perform. They include intended and unintended economic and environmental outcomes and the distribution of benefits and costs among the affected parties. These steps consider the application of cost effectiveness and cost benefits analysis, e.g. to assess ex-post performance of the EPI. Process criteria describe the institutional conditions (legislative, political, cultural, etc.) affecting the formation and operation of the EPI studied (particularly relevant for assessing the possible impacts of using economic instruments), the transaction costs involved in implementing and enforcing the instruments, and the process of implementation. Case studies from Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as from Australia, Chile, Israel and the USA are presented in this book. A wide variety of EPIs are also covered, including water-pricing schemes (tariffs, environmental taxes, environmental charges or fees, subsidies on products and practices), trading schemes (tradable permits for abstraction and pollution), and cooperation mechanisms.

This book argues that the economic appeal of using water charges to promote efficiency in usage and pollution control can be constrained by institutional and operational problems. Analysing the cases of France, Mexico and Brazil, the authors 'respecti

Executive summary Chapter 1. Overview and water management objectives of Kyrgyzstan Chapter 2. Methodology for assessing reform options in Kyrgyzstan Chapter 3. Introducing surface water abstraction and water-body use charges in Kyrgyzstan Chapter 4. Reforming environmental pollution fees in Kyrgyzstan Chapter 5. Reforming irrigation tariffs in Kyrgyzstan Chapter 6. Land taxes in the Lake Issyk-Kul area Chapter 7. Cholpon-Ata city case study on water supply and sanitation tariffs Chapter 8. Introducing product taxes (including import duty) on selected products polluting water in Kyrgyzstan Chapter 9. Towards an Action Plan for reform of economic instruments for WRM in Kyrgyzstan Annex A. List of government officials interviewed in the context of this project Annex B. Expert workshop (Bishkek, 18 March 2014) Annex C. Details of the assessment: Tables for all instruments Annex D. Data of reference

A major challenge facing the Republic of Buryatia, subject of the Russian Federation, is how to balance the task of protecting Lake Baikal – a unique water object and ecological system included in the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage Areas – with the need for dynamic and sustainable ...

Integrated water resource management (IWRM) integrates land use and water management at a watershed level, to optimize economic, social, and environmental outcomes simultaneously.

Water is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity in many parts of the world. Population growth plus a growing appetite for larger quantities of cheap water quality as a result of urban, industrial, and agricultural pollution coupled with increasing environmental demands have further reduced usable suppliers. This book brings together thirty of the best economic articles addressing water scarcity issues within the US and Mexico. By touching on a number of different issues, this volume clearly articulates the need for improving existing institutional arrangements as well as for developing new arrangements to address growing water scarcity problems.