Determining the Economic Value of Water: Concepts and Methods - Softcover

Young, Robert A.

9781891853982: Determining the Economic Value of Water: Concepts and Methods

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1891853988 ISBN 13: 9781891853982

Publisher: RFF Press, 2005

Water provides benefits as a commodity for agriculture, industry, and households--and as a public good for scenic values, waste assimilation, wildlife habitats, and recreational use. However, even as the nature and needs of economies change, water continues to be allocated to other than high priority uses, water quality continues to decline, environmental uses get inadequate attention, and floods and droughts take an unnecessarily severe toll. One reason for this is that price signals that reflect scarcities of goods and thereby guide investments and resource allocation in the private sector are usually distorted or absent in decision-making relating to water. To aid in cost-benefit analysis under conditions where appropriate price incentives are absent, economists have developed a range of alternative or “non-market” methods for measuring economic benefits. Robert Young aims to provide the most comprehensive exposition to-date of the application of nonmarket economic valuation methods to proposed water resources investments and policies. He provides a conceptual framework for valuation of both commodity and public good uses of water, addressing valuation techniques appropriate to measuring public benefits--including water quality improvement, recreation and wildlife habitat enhancement, and flood risk reduction. However, in contrast to the existing environmental valuation literature, the emphasis here is on the commodity uses of water by agriculture, industries, and households. The book describes the various measurement methods, illustrates how they are applied in practice, and discusses their strengths, limitations, and appropriate roles.

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About the Author:

Robert A. Young is emeritus professor in agricultural and resource economics at Colorado State University.

Review:

'This thorough and well referenced book is likely to become an important resource for every economist working in the area of water resource valuation and policy analysis. With both technical details and clear exposition, it would also be an excellent guide for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses.' Molly Espey, Clemson University, in Journal of Agribusiness

'[A] superb work. . . . Highly recommended.' Choice

‘Overall, there are many things to like about this book... This book should be required reading for every politician who is responsible for water policy making’, Steven Renzetti, Dept of Economics, Brock University, Canada, in Environmental and Resource Economics (2005)

‘I plan to keep this book for my personal bookshelf ... The book could easily be used as the principle text or supplementary text for MS level classes in water resources management and as a reference for many classes in environmental studies and agricultural economics’. Donald Agthe, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (2006)

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