Benefit Transfer (BT) is often applied when a primary valuation study is considered too costly or time consuming to conduct. It is commonly assumed that BT performance improves with increasing similarity between study and policy sites. However, no common criteria for defining similarity exist, making it difficult to operationalise the concept of similarity in a practical BT context. We propose a structured

This research explores the relationship between episodes of contaminated drinking water and health care expenditures in the United States. The analysis relies on panel data from the 48 contiguous states from 2000 to 2011. We use the population served by public water systems that violate health-based standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act as a proxy for contaminated drinking water. We estimate spatial

We exploit sudden changes in the marginal tariff scheme to estimate the price elasticity of water demand using households' and firms' data in Tangerang Regency, a part of the Jakarta Greater Metropolitan Area, where water demand management is imperative due to the city's growing population and industrial activities. A monthly water consumption dataset at the consumer level is used in our study. Using

Allocation trade is an instrument that has been widely used to recover water for the environment during periods of scarcity (droughts). This paper proposes a water bank operating within a monopsony-monopoly setting with the dual purpose of reallocating water among farmers and acquiring water for the environment during drought periods. The proposed water bank would be managed by a public agency seeking

Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries is predominantly rainfed, but SSA could develop greater dependence on supplemental irrigation due to a changing climate with greater rainfall uncertainty and higher frequency of dry spells. Supplemental irrigation through small-scale water harvesting (SSWH) plays a vital role in helping rainfed small-scale farmers overcome the risk of dry spells and

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

What is the economic value of storing water for future droughts, and what are the consequences of this valuation for water management? One way to answer this question is to ask: ‘what is the valuation, which if used, would maximize a region's economic use of water?’ This prescriptive valuation can be done by linking classical hydro-economic models to global search methods. Another way to answer this

The paper examines the response of twelve U.S. agricultural stock returns to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) shocks using a recursive VAR model. Baseline results indicate that for seven of the stock returns, an ENSO shock has positive and significant effects. The effects, however, are shortlived, generally becoming statistically indistinguishable from zero three to six months after the shock. Variance

The reduction of damage due to water pollution requires good knowledge of the quality of surface waters. The Water Quality Monitoring Networks (WQMNs) have evolved over time according to the objectives of each one of them: knowledge of long-term quality evolution, search for the origin of pollution, detection of accidental pollution, etc. Information provided by WQMNs could be improved by a spatial

Abiotic stresses such as droughts and floods significantly constrain rice production in India. New stress tolerant technologies have the potential to reduce yield variability and help insulate farmers from the risks posed by these hazards. Using discrete choice experiments conducted in rural Odisha, we estimate farmers' valuation for drought-tolerant (DT) and submergence-tolerant (SubT) traits embodied

Where we may be aware that a problem exists, but have only an incomplete description of the drivers and/or possible management solutions, we will be unaware/uncertain about future returns from, and risks to, private and public investments in capital (i.e. social, natural, economic, cultural and political). This paper explores the unawareness/uncertainty problem by coupling Arrow's states of nature

Basin-wide planning requires tools and strategies that allow comparison of alternative pathways and priorities at relevant spatial and temporal scales. In this paper, we apply a hydroeconomic model–the Western Nepal Energy Water Model–that better accounts for feedbacks between water and energy markets, to optimize water allocations across energy, agriculture, municipal, and environmental sectors. The

We use a split-sample choice experiment to investigate the effects of alternative payment modes on the purchase of flood insurance among smallholder irrigation farmers in Ghana. Results show that insurance up-take is lower for insurance premium payments required in labour than comparable premiums required in harvest and money. The marginal willingness-to-pay for a one-year reduction in flood frequency

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) strongly emphasizes that all water polluting sectors must enhance the protection of water bodies in a cost-effective way. River Basin Management Plans need to be made to achieve a good environmental status for all water bodies by 2027 at the latest. This article examines three principal water protection measures used in forestry: buffer zones, overland flow

An urban water network with storage and uncertain environmental water inflows is modelled. This three period model is analytically tractable, and allows for a straightforward study of the relative economic impact of different policy regimes. The model is used to identify the water authority's first best pricing policy, and its relation to long run marginal cost pricing. The model is then used to identify

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of flood risk adaptation strategies offers policymakers insight into economically optimal strategies for adapting to sea level rise. However, building-level adaptation measures such as floodproofing or building elevation are often evaluated at aggregated spatial scales, which may result in sub-optimal investment decisions. In this paper, we develop a flood risk model and

Low-lying densely populated areas can be susceptible to flooding due to extreme river discharges. Insurance may be used to spread flood risk and reduce potential material damages. However, homeowners often purchase insufficient amounts of insurance against natural hazard risks like flooding, which may be due to the way they process probabilities. A common finding from (Cumulative) Prospect Theory is

We conduct a contingent valuation study to estimate the willingness to pay for a point-of-use water quality technology and water quality testing services in the highlands of Guatemala. This study is unique in two ways: we measure drinking water quality at the household level through water samples collected at the household and we elicit the willingness to pay for water quality testing services. We

Water is one of the most important inputs in the production process, especially for the manufacturing sector. However, at the same time, this resource can present shortage problems, mainly due to a lack of knowledge about its value. In most emerging countries, the monetary value of water used in the production process does not necessarily reflect that there is a shortage, or the costs of catchment

This paper studies the conflict between economic and environmental sustainability objectives faced by a water agency when she allocates water quotas to farmers. This conflict consists in a water allocation problem between the amount of water claimed by farmers to irrigate their crops and the water flows needed for the conservation and the preservation of the ecosystems. This conflict in objectives