Keywords

water markets, agricultural economics, political economics

Abstract

A few years ago it was mostly economists, notably those of a libertarian stripe who were advocating voluntary market exchanges of water in the West. Now these exchanges, or transfers as they are sometimes referred to, are being unabashedly recommended by water users, politicians, bureaucrats, and even environmental organizations, who have come to see their value for achieving a more efficient water allocation. Water markets are an idea whose time has finally arrived.

Original Publication Citation

Removing Impediments to Water Markets. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 42, No. 6, November-December, 1987, pp. 384-388. Also published in Institute Perspective, Institute of Political Economy, Number 7, 1988.