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Water Markets and Water Quality
Author(s) -
Weinberg Marca,
Kling Catherine L.,
Wilen James E.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1242912
Subject(s) - allocative efficiency , irrigation , water resource management , cropping , water quality , drainage , san joaquin , water pricing , quality (philosophy) , natural resource economics , agriculture , economics , environmental science , environmental economics , business , water conservation , microeconomics , ecology , soil science , biology , philosophy , epistemology
In addition to improving the allocative efficiency of water use, water markets may reduce irrigation‐related water quality problems. This potential benefit is examined with a nonlinear programming model developed to simulate agricultural decision‐making in a drainage problem area in California's San Joaquin Valley. Results indicate that a 30% drainage goal is achievable through improvements in irrigation practices and changes in cropping patterns induced by a water market. Although water markets will not generally achieve a least‐cost solution, they may be a practical alternative to economically efficient, but informationally intensive, environmental policies such as Pigouvian taxes.