The paper reviews current water reforms and initiatives in the Murray-Darling Basin from an economic perspective. It argues that while the principles (National Water Initiative) and rules (Water Act 2007) of water reform provide the framework to achieve the goals of reform, the financial...

Many urban communities are considering infrastructure investments to augment their water supply in response to actual or expected shortages due to weather variability and, in some cases, due to climate change. To address short-term imbalances between supply and demand, water utilities frequently...

The paper provides an integrated framework to assess water markets in terms of their institutional underpinnings and the three ‘pillars’ of integrated water resource management: economic efficiency, equity and environmental sustainability. This framework can be used: (1) to benchmark...

Water markets in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) and the US west are compared in terms of their ability to allocate scarce water resources. The study finds that the gains from trade in the MDB are worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Total market turnover in water rights...

Fresh water supplies increasingly are under stress in many parts of the world due to rising populations, higher per capita incomes and corresponding consumption, greater environmental concerns, and the effects of climate change. Water rights and markets are part of the institutional menus for...

The paper provides an integrated framework to assess water markets in terms of their institutional underpinnings and the three 'pillars' of integrated water resource management: economic efficiency, equity and environmental sustainability. This framework can be used: (1) to benchmark different...