This book argues that the economic appeal of using water charges to promote efficiency in usage and pollution control can be constrained by institutional and operational problems. Analysing the cases of France, Mexico and Brazil, the authors--respective local experts--illustrate that barriers...

Foreword / by Waldemar W. Wirsig -- Introduction -- Mixed performance -- Differentiated and complex systems -- A typology for distinguishing myth from reality -- Key policy issues -- Between status quo and neoliberal extremes