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Property rights and western United States water markets

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  • Zachary Donohew

Abstract

This paper addresses water scarcity issues in the American West and examines the allocation of water through the appropriative rights system and the extent markets are used to reallocate water from low- to high-valued uses. The unique physical properties of water make it difficult to bound and measure, which makes defining property rights difficult. Markets are also impeded by disputes over third-party effects due to the interdependencies of water users and complex institutional arrangements that dilute decision-making authority. Analysis of water trading in the western United States indicates that the rate of permanent transfers is increasing over time and urban users are paying higher prices relative to agricultural users. Copyright 2009 The Author. Journal compilation 2009 Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Inc. and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

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  • Zachary Donohew, 2009. "Property rights and western United States water markets ," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 53(1), pages 85-103, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajarec:v:53:y:2009:i:1:p:85-103
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/j.1467-8489.2007.00427.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jedidiah Brewer & Robert Glennon & Alan Ker & Gary Libecap, 2008. "2006 Presidential Address Water Markets In The West: Prices, Trading, And Contractual Forms," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 46(2), pages 91-112, April.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Speelman, Stijn & Veettil, Prakashan Chellattan, 2013. "Heterogeneous preferences for water rights reforms among smallholder irrigators in South Africa," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 2(2), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Francis Carlo Petterini, 2018. "The Likelihood Of A Water Market In Brazil," Anais do XLIV Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 44th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 190, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    4. Broadbent, Craig D. & Brookshire, David S. & Coursey, Don & Tidwell, Vince, 2014. "An experimental analysis of water leasing markets focusing on the agricultural sector," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 88-98.
    5. Bajaj, Akshi & Singh, S.P. & Nayak, Diptimayee, 2022. "Impact of water markets on equity and efficiency in irrigation water use: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    6. Hansen, Kristiana M. & Hovhannisyan, Vardges, 2018. "Determinants of Price in Western Water Markets: A Systems Approach," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274303, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Pongspikul, Tayatorn & McCann, Laura M., 2020. "Farmers’ Adoption of Pressure Irrigation Systems: The Case of Cotton Producers in the Southeastern versus Southwestern U.S," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304332, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Levers, L.R. & Skaggs, T.H. & Schwabe, K.A., 2019. "Buying water for the environment: A hydro-economic analysis of Salton Sea inflows," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 554-567.
    9. Lankford, Bruce, 2012. "Fictions, fractions, factorials and fractures; on the framing of irrigation efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 27-38.
    10. Skurray, James H., 2013. "The scope for collective action in a large groundwater basin: an institutional analysis of aquifer governance in Western Australia," Working Papers 161075, University of Western Australia, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

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