In this article, we estimate both the economic value of water and own-price and cross-price elasticities of water for the Chilean manufacturing industry using the production function approach. Estimating the production function allows us to estimate the marginal productivity of water which corresponds to its economic value. Our estimations are based on panel data obtained from the National Industrial Survey for the period 1995–2014, accounting for more than 10,000 industrial plants. We use a translog specification for the production function, considering water, capital, labor, energy, and intermediate material as explanatory variables. We find substitution patterns among most inputs, except for energy and water, which are found to be complements. Our results suggest that the manufacturing sector is characterized by an elastic water demand, with an average economic value of water of 8.071 [USD/m³]. Based on our findings, there is room to increase water prices in most sectors without affecting the competitiveness of firms. Knowing the economic value of water and its price elasticity could help policymakers to design water policies that promote more efficient use of this scarce resource.

在本文中，我们使用生产函数法估算智利制造业的水的经济价值以及水的自身价格和交叉价格弹性。估计生产函数使我们能够估计与水的经济价值相对应的边际生产率。我们的估算是基于1995-2014年全国工业调查中获得的面板数据，该数据涵盖了10,000多个工业工厂。我们将生产函数使用Translog规范，并将水，资本，劳动力，能源和中间材料视为解释变量。我们发现，除了能量和水以外，大多数投入中的替代模式都是互补的。我们的结果表明，制造业的特点是弹性的用水需求，³ ]。根据我们的发现，在大多数部门中都有上涨水价的空间，而不会影响企业的竞争力。了解水的经济价值及其价格弹性可以帮助决策者设计水政策，以促进对这种稀缺资源的更有效利用。