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Impact Of Pricing Structure Selectivity On Urban Water Demand

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  • MICHAEL Nieswiadomy
  • STEVEN L. Cobb

Abstract

Interest in demand management policies has intensified as residential water demand has grown in the United States. Using data from the 1984 American Water Works Association (AWWA) survey, the study here provides an empirical analysis of the differences in price elasticities of demand across water pricing block structures and examines these structures' “conservation‐orientedness.” However, a potential sample selection bias exists. That is, in cities where people are more interested in conservation, utility managers may be more likely to select a rate structure that they believe is conservation‐oriented–an increasing block structure, for example. Managers' selectivity bias may cause research results either to understate or to overstate a particular block structure's impact on water conservation. The analysis here corrects for this selectivity bias in estimating water demand and tests whether consumers respond to average prices or to marginal prices. Correcting for selectivity bias involves an explicit analysis of the factors that influence utility managers' selection of rate structures. Estimating water demand under increasing and decreasing block structures suggests that sample selection bias remains a problem worthy of further investigation.

Suggested Citation

  • MICHAEL Nieswiadomy & STEVEN L. Cobb, 1993. "Impact Of Pricing Structure Selectivity On Urban Water Demand," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 11(3), pages 101-113, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:11:y:1993:i:3:p:101-113
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1465-7287.1993.tb00395.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lee, Lung-Fei, 1983. "Generalized Econometric Models with Selectivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 51(2), pages 507-512, March.
    2. Shin, Jeong-Shik, 1985. "Perception of Price When Price Information Is Costly: Evidence from Residential Electricity Demand," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(4), pages 591-598, November.
    3. Aigner, Dennis J & Ghali, Khalifa, 1989. "Self-Selection in the Residential Electricity Time-of-Use Pricing Experiments," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 4(S), pages 131-144, Supplemen.
    4. Michael L. Nieswiadomy & David J. Molina, 1989. "Comparing Residential Water Demand Estimates under Decreasing and Increasing Block Rates Using Household Data," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 65(3), pages 280-289.
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    1. Hajispyrou, Soteroula & Koundouri, Phoebe & Pashardes, Panos, 2002. "Household demand and welfare: implications of water pricing in Cyprus," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(4), pages 659-685, October.
    2. Andrew C. Worthington & Mark Hoffman, 2008. "An Empirical Survey Of Residential Water Demand Modelling," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 842-871, December.
    3. Arbues, Fernando & Garcia-Valinas, Maria Angeles & Martinez-Espineira, Roberto, 2003. "Estimation of residential water demand: a state-of-the-art review," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 81-102, March.
    4. Shyama Ratnasiri & Clevo Wilson & Wasantha Athukorala & Maria A. Garcia-Valiñas & Benno Torgler & Robert Gifford, 2018. "Effectiveness of two pricing structures on urban water use and conservation: a quasi-experimental investigation," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 20(3), pages 547-560, July.
    5. Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana & Vlach, Tomas, 2016. "Publication Bias in Measuring the Income Elasticity of Water Demand," MPRA Paper 75247, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. María Ángeles García-Valiñas & Sara Suárez-Fernández, 2022. "Are Economic Tools Useful to Manage Residential Water Demand? A Review of Old Issues and Emerging Topics," Post-Print hal-04067487, HAL.
    7. Xunzhou Ma & Shiqiu Zhang & Quan Mu, 2014. "How Do Residents Respond to Price under Increasing Block Tariffs? Evidence from Experiments in Urban Residential Water Demand in Beijing," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(14), pages 4895-4909, November.
    8. Mónica Maldonado-Devis & Vicent Almenar-Llongo, 2021. "A Panel Data Estimation of Domestic Water Demand with IRT Tariff Structure: The Case of the City of Valencia (Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-26, January.
    9. R. Martinez-Espiñeira, 2002. "Residential Water Demand in the Northwest of Spain," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 21(2), pages 161-187, February.
    10. Marie-Estelle Binet & Fabrizio Carlevaro & Michel Paul, 2014. "Estimation of Residential Water Demand with Imperfect Price Perception," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 59(4), pages 561-581, December.
    11. Tomas Havranek & Zuzana Irsova & Tomas Vlach, 2018. "Measuring the Income Elasticity of Water Demand: The Importance of Publication and Endogeneity Biases," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 94(2), pages 259-283.
    12. Olmstead, Sheila M. & Michael Hanemann, W. & Stavins, Robert N., 2007. "Water demand under alternative price structures," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 181-198, September.
    13. Henrique Monteiro, 2010. "Residential Water Demand in Portugal: checking for efficiency-based justifications for increasing block tariffs," Working Papers Series 1 ercwp0110, ISCTE-IUL, Business Research Unit (BRU-IUL).
    14. Pinto, Francisco Silva & Marques, Rui Cuhna, 2015. "Tariff recommendations: A Panacea for the Portuguese water sector?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 36-44.
    15. Schuck, Eric C. & Green, Gareth P., 2002. "Supply-based water pricing in a conjunctive use system: implications for resource and energy use," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 175-192, June.
    16. Fernando Arbues & Inmaculada Villanua, 2006. "Potential for Pricing Policies in Water Resource Management: Estimation of Urban Residential Water Demand in Zaragoza, Spain," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(13), pages 2421-2442, December.
    17. Worthington, Andrew C., 2010. "Commercial and Industrial Water Demand Estimation: Theoretical and Methodological Guidelines for Applied Economics Research/Estimación de la demanda de agua comercial e industrial: pautas teóricas y m," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 28, pages 237-258, Agosto.
    18. Sheila M. Olmstead, 2010. "The Economics of Managing Scarce Water Resources," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4(2), pages 179-198, Summer.
    19. Marie-Estelle Binet & Fabrizio Carlevaro & Michel Paul, 2012. "Estimation of Residential Water Demand with Imprecise Price Perception," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes 1 & University of Caen) 201233, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes 1, University of Caen and CNRS.
    20. Jasper M. Dalhuisen & Raymond J.G.M. Florax & Henri L.F.M. de Groot & Peter Nijkamp, 2001. "Price and Income Elasticities of Residential Water Demand: Why Empirical Estimates differ," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 01-057/3, Tinbergen Institute.

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