Developing a Partial Equilibrium Model of an Urban Water System

This Productivity Commission staff working paper (by Andrew Barker, Tim Murray and John Salerian) was released March 2010. Urban water and its management have been the subject of much public debate. The timing and choice of investments to augment water supply, different approaches to water pricing, and the tools of demand management have all been the subject of discussion. Outlined in this paper is a model that can be used to quantify the costs and benefits of policy options to improve outcomes in urban water systems. An earlier version of the paper was presented at the Australian Conference of Economists on 30 September 2009, and was awarded the prize for best contributed paper. <p>The views expressed in this paper are those of the staff involved and do not necessarily reflect those of the Productivity Commission.