Freshwater resources are growing increasingly scarce and conflicts over potable water are becoming more common. In order to deal with these problems and to allocate water, managers and water resource planners must have information regarding the nature of competing water demands. The Economics of Water Demands represents the first comprehensive treatment of economic research directed at understanding the structure of water demands in over a decade. This treatment includes discussions of many facets of water demands, including the economic theory of water demands, econometric and programming models of water demands, the results of empirical models, and the application of water demand information in the design of water management policies.

The first section of the book critically assesses the state of knowledge regarding water demands in each of the major water-using sectors: residential, industrial, and agricultural. The second section examines the demand for sewage treatment and wastewater disposal, as well as water demands in low-income countries. The third section of the book considers the valuation of water use. The final section is concerned with the application of water demand information in the management of water and the forecasting of water demands.

The book traces the historical development of economic research in each of the sections. At the same time, the book also covers the most recent developments in the literature, including the role of risk in agricultural water demands, the estimation of discrete choice models of supply source choice by households in low-income countries, and use of ecological models to assess in-stream water demands.

The Economics of WaterDemands demonstrates the value of applying economic theory and measurement techniques to water demands. The empirical evidence summarized here clearly shows the influential role played by water prices, other commodity prices, incomes, and other economic factors in determining the demand for and the valuation of water resources.

The Economics of Industrial Water Use presents an authoritative collection of the most important articles to have applied economic models and measurement techniques to the topic of industrial water use over the last thirty years. It includes an original introductory chapter which summarizes and critically assesses the literature on this important subject. These papers employ a range of modelling approaches including econometric estimation, linear programming, input-output models, non-market valuation and integrated river basin planning models. They also provide empirical evidence of the significant role played by economic forces in determining industrial water intake, discharge and recirculation. This comprehensive volume will be an indispensable reference source for those with an interest in water's role in industrial applications.

This book arose out of a paper that I wrote for the World Bank at the request of Ariel Dinar, the editor for the series in which this volume appears. I began that paper by pointing to the growing importance of demand-side considerations in water resources: "The provision of potable water is one of government's oldest functions with evidence of this activity stretching back thousands of years. During much of that time, water demands were taken as exogenously given and the principle task of authorities was defined as an engineering one: how to supply a given quantity of water at least cost. In recent years, however, concerns have arisen from observations of excessive water use, degraded water quality and continued inadequate service for many, especially the very poor. As a result of these and other concerns, there is a growing effort to view water resource allocation from a perspective that incorporates consumers' preferences along with supply constraints into management plans. " (Renzetti, 2000, p. 123). The purpose of this volume is to examine, in greater detail than was possible in that article, what is known regarding the economic characteristics of the demand for water. Thus, this book is meant to be an extended critical review of the state of the art.