skip to content
Close Window

Please sign in to WorldCat 

Don't have an account? You can easily create a free account.

Cancel Forgot your password?
Water markets : priming the invisible pump
ClosePreview this item

Water markets : priming the invisible pump

Author: Terry Lee Anderson; Pamela Snyder
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : Cato Institute, 1997.
Edition/Format: Book : EnglishView all editions and formats
Summary:
Economist Terry Anderson and attorney Pamela Snyder argue that the lessons we learned from the energy crisis in the 1970s are just as applicable to the impending water crisis: when government regulations kept fuel prices below market-clearing levels, shortages inevitably followed. When price controls blocked normal market mechanisms, the shortages persisted and government was forced to allocate artificially scarce

Find a copy in the library

WorldCat

Find it in libraries globally
Worldwide libraries own this item

Details

Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Terry Lee Anderson; Pamela Snyder
ISBN: 1882577442 9781882577446 1882577434 9781882577439
OCLC Number: 36759862
Description: vii, 228 p. ; 23 cm.
Contents: Why water crises? -- Political economy of water policy -- Evolution of water institutions -- Politics and water don't mix -- Salvaging the appropriation doctrine -- Privatizing instream flows -- Solution to pollution -- Ground-water deeds -- We've dome a long way, baby.
Responsibility: Terry L. Anderson and Pamela Snyder.

Abstract:

Economist Terry Anderson and attorney Pamela Snyder argue that the lessons we learned from the energy crisis in the 1970s are just as applicable to the impending water crisis: when government regulations kept fuel prices below market-clearing levels, shortages inevitably followed. When price controls blocked normal market mechanisms, the shortages persisted and government was forced to allocate artificially scarce resources. The same laws of supply and demand are causing problems with the availability of water. Prices have been kept artificially low, and the inevitable overuse and shortages have occurred. Governments have responded by rationing water and initiating expensive water projects to increase the supply. Those policies have failed, however, and the authors argue that introducing the price mechanism into water policy will help alleviate shortages because higher prices will cause people to consume water more carefully.

Anderson and Snyder argue that water markets can also play an important role in solving the problem of pollution and ground water runoff. Markets not only facilitate instream flows that dilute pollution; they also help control discharges into streams and lakes. Before the Clean Water Act of 1972, for example, courts used common law to define property rights in water, and lawsuits based on trespass, nuisance, and other torts were brought against polluters. Fortunately, the use of water markets has increased during the past decade. Many environmentalists now find common ground with economists in advocating market prices for water. This book shows how water markets are working in the United States and around the world and where water policy is headed.

Reviews

User-contributed reviews

Tags

Be the first.
Confirm this request

You may have already requested this item. Please select Ok if you would like to proceed with this request anyway.