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The Political Economy of Increasing Block Tariffs for Water in Developing Countries

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Listed:
  • John J. Boland

    (The Johns Hopkins University)

  • Dale Whittington

    (Departments of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, Public Policy, and City & Regional Planning, University of North Carolina)

Abstract

Increasing block tariffs (IBTs) have become the tariff structure of choice in developing countries. Multilateral donors, international financial and engineering consultants, and water sector professionals working in developing countries all commonly presume that IBT structures are the most appropriate way to determine water users' monthly bills. Most, if not all recent water tariff studies performed for developing countries propose IBT structures. The objective of this paper is to critically examine the current fashion of using IBTs in cities in developing countries. In the second section of the paper, we review the common arguments made to justify the adoption of IBTs, and present some actual IBTs currently in use in selected cities. In the third section of the paper we discuss the objectives and considerations involved in water tariff design so as to provide a basis for judging the appropriateness of IBTs.

Suggested Citation

  • John J. Boland & Dale Whittington, 1998. "The Political Economy of Increasing Block Tariffs for Water in Developing Countries," EEPSEA Special and Technical Paper sp199801t3, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), revised Jan 1998.
    • Handle: RePEc:eep:tpaper:sp199801t3
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    File URL: http://www.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/10536141760ACF33E.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Whittington, Dale, 1992. "Possible Adverse Effects of Increasing Block Water Tariffs in Developing Countries," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(1), pages 75-87, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mullen, Jeffrey D., 2011. "Statewide Water Planning: The Georgia Experience," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(3), pages 357-366, August.
    2. Jonathan Chapman, 2020. "Extension of the Franchise and Government Expenditure on Public Goods: Evidence from Nineteenth-Century England," Working Papers 20200045, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Mar 2020.
    3. He, Xiaoping & Reiner, David, 2016. "Electricity demand and basic needs: Empirical evidence from China's households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 212-221.
    4. Li, Lanlan & Luo, Xuan & Zhou, Kaile & Xu, Tingting, 2018. "Evaluation of increasing block pricing for households' natural gas: A case study of Beijing, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 162-172.
    5. Liang Lu & David Deller & Morten Hviid, 2019. "Price and Behavioural Signals to Encourage Household Water Conservation: Implications for the UK," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(2), pages 475-491, January.
    6. Sidibe, Yoro & Williams, Timothy O., 2015. "Valuation of water in large-scale agricultural land investments in Mali: Efficiency and equity trade-offs," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212235, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Maria F. Reyes, 2021. "Implications of Water Tariff Structures on Water Demand in Santa Cruz Island (Galapagos Archipelago)," International Journal of Economics and Financial Research, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 7(3), pages 132-142, 09-2021.
    8. Liang Lu & David Deller & Morten Hviid, 2018. "Price and Behavioural Signals to Encourage Household Water Conservation in Temperate Climates," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2018-01, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    9. Gong, Chengzhu & Yu, Shiwei & Zhu, Kejun & Hailu, Atakelty, 2016. "Evaluating the influence of increasing block tariffs in residential gas sector using agent-based computational economics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 334-347.

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