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Removing Barriers to Facilitate Efficient Water Markets in the Murray Darling Basin – A Case Study from Australia

Author

Listed:
  • M Ejaz Qureshi
  • Tian Shi
  • Sumaira Qureshi
  • Wendy Proctor
  • Mac Kirby

    (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Australia)

Abstract

Water markets have been seen as an effective way of addressing water scarcity and allocation issues. In this paper we discuss the role and characteristics of water markets in facilitating efficient water allocation. Administrative, regulatory and/or political barriers to effective functioning of water markets are reviewed with a focus on southern Murray-Darling Basin in Australia. A mathematical model is developed to estimate the costs of existing restrictions and the benefits from potential changes in the water markets (eg. removing barriers in temporary water market). The modelling results reveal that when expanding trade from intraregional only to interregional trade, mean annual net returns increased from $2,502 million to $2,590 million (i.e. an increase of $88 million). When the current volume restrictions, exchange rates, and trading charges are in place, mean annual net returns reduced from $2,590 million to $2,573 million (i.e. a reduction of $17 million). The exclusion of any state from the interstate water trading market imposes significant costs. If South Australia, New South Wales or Victoria withdraws from the market, it reduces net returns by $27 million, $31 million and $63 million, respectively, from water trading. In conclusion, the policy implications on strategies to removing market barriers are outlined to facilitate efficient and effective water trading.

Suggested Citation

  • M Ejaz Qureshi & Tian Shi & Sumaira Qureshi & Wendy Proctor & Mac Kirby, 2009. "Removing Barriers to Facilitate Efficient Water Markets in the Murray Darling Basin – A Case Study from Australia," Socio-Economics and the Environment in Discussion (SEED) Working Paper Series 2009-02, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.
    • Handle: RePEc:cse:wpaper:2009-02
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pérez-Blanco, C. D & Standardi, G., 2019. "Farm waters run deep: a coupled positive multi-attribute utility programming and computable general equilibrium model to assess the economy-wide impacts of water buyback," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 336-351.
    2. Ejaz Qureshi, Muhammad & Ranjan, Ram & Ejaz Qureshi, Sumaira, 2010. "An empirical assessment of the value of irrigation water: the case study of Murrumbidgee catchment," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 54(1), pages 1-20.
    3. Agbola, Frank W. & Evans, Nigel, 2012. "Modelling rice and cotton acreage response in the Murray Darling Basin in Australia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 74-82.
    4. Min Ge & Fengping Wu & Xiaoping Chen, 2018. "Using Multiple Discriminant Analysis for the Assignment of Initial Water Entitlements at River Basin-Level under the Strictest Water Resources Management System Constraints in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, November.
    5. Kirby, Mac & Bark, Rosalind & Connor, Jeff & Qureshi, M. Ejaz & Keyworth, Scott, 2014. "Sustainable irrigation: How did irrigated agriculture in Australia's Murray–Darling Basin adapt in the Millennium Drought?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 154-162.
    6. Pérez-Blanco, C.D. & Gutiérrez-Martín, C., 2017. "Buy me a river: Use of multi-attribute non-linear utility functions to address overcompensation in agricultural water buyback," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 6-20.
    7. Raffensperger, John F., 2011. "Matching users' rights to available groundwater," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(6), pages 1041-1050, April.
    8. Wheeler, Sarah Ann & Zuo, Alec & Bjornlund, Henning, 2014. "Investigating the delayed on-farm consequences of selling water entitlements in the Murray-Darling Basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 72-82.
    9. Claire Settre & Jeff Connor & Sarah Ann Wheeler, 2017. "Reviewing the Treatment of Uncertainty in Hydro-economic Modeling of the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(03), pages 1-35, July.
    10. Ejaz Qureshi, M. & Hanjra, Munir A. & Ward, John, 2013. "Impact of water scarcity in Australia on global food security in an era of climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 136-145.
    11. Hang Zheng & Zhongjing Wang & Siyi Hu & Yongping Wei, 2012. "A Comparative Study of the Performance of Public Water Rights Allocation in China," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(5), pages 1107-1123, March.
    12. Montilla-López, Nazaret M. & Gómez-Limón, José A. & Gutiérrez-Martín, Carlos, 2018. "Sharing a river: Potential performance of a water bank for reallocating irrigation water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 47-59.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    market barrier; opportunity cost; temporary water market; efficient water market; Australia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q20 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - General
    • Q21 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water

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