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Water Price Reforms in China: Policy-Making and Implementation

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  • Lijin Zhong
  • Arthur Mol

Abstract

Following the conviction that economic and pricing approaches are an essential addition to conventional command-and-control environmental regulation, China has gradually increased attention to, research on and experiments with the application of economic instruments in urban water management over the past two decades. This paper analyzes the actual application and implementation of economic instruments in Chinese urban water sectors, applying an ecological modernization perspective. Water tariffs in China have increased sharply over this period, increasingly representing full costs and increasing water use efficiency. But implementation of water tariffs does run into problems of unclear responsibilities, poor collection rates and institutional capacities. It is concluded that Chinese style ecological modernization should pay more attention to the institutional dimensions of natural resource pricing policies, if it is to profit from the theoretical advantages of economic approaches in urban water management. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010

Suggested Citation

  • Lijin Zhong & Arthur Mol, 2010. "Water Price Reforms in China: Policy-Making and Implementation," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 24(2), pages 377-396, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:24:y:2010:i:2:p:377-396
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-009-9451-0
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jia Wang & Jiaoju Ge & Zhifeng Gao, 2018. "Consumers’ Preferences and Derived Willingness-to-Pay for Water Supply Safety Improvement: The Analysis of Pricing and Incentive Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, May.
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    6. Rui Wang, 2011. "Environmental and resource sustainability of Chinese cities: A review of issues, policies, practices and effects," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(2), pages 112-121, May.
    7. Zhang, Cheng-Yao & Oki, Taikan, 2023. "Water pricing reform for sustainable water resources management in China’s agricultural sector," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    8. Hao Li & Xiaohui Yang & Xiao Zhang & Yuyan Liu & Kebin Zhang, 2018. "Estimation of Rural Households’ Willingness to Accept Two PES Programs and Their Service Valuation in the Miyun Reservoir Catchment, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, January.
    9. Jichuan Sheng & Michael Webber, 2019. "Governance rescaling and neoliberalization of China’s water governance: The case of China’s South–North Water Transfer Project," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(8), pages 1644-1664, November.
    10. Georg Meran, 2012. "Europäische Preisregulierungssysteme in der Wasserwirtschaft: Konzepte und Umsetzungsprobleme," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 81(1), pages 167-181.
    11. Prakashan Veettil & Stijn Speelman & Guido Huylenbroeck, 2013. "Estimating the Impact of Water Pricing on Water Use Efficiency in Semi-arid Cropping System: An Application of Probabilistically Constrained Nonparametric Efficiency Analysis," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(1), pages 55-73, January.
    12. Fan Li & Michelle Andrea Phillips, 2017. "The Influence of the Regulatory Environment on Chinese Urban Water Utilities," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(1), pages 205-218, January.
    13. Xiao-meng Song & Fan-zhe Kong & Che-sheng Zhan, 2011. "Assessment of Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Tianjin City of China," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(3), pages 857-873, February.
    14. Li, Fan & Phillips, Michelle, 2016. "The Influence Of Regulation And The Operational Environment On Chinese Urban Water Utilities," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235160, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Shahbaz Mushtaq, 2012. "Exploring Synergies Between Hardware and Software Interventions on Water Savings in China: Farmers’ Response to Water Usage and Crop Production," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(11), pages 3285-3300, September.
    16. Carvalho, Isabella de Castro & Calijuri, Maria Lúcia & Assemany, Paula Peixoto & Silva, Marcos Dornelas Freitas Machado e & Moreira Neto, Ronan Fernandes & Santiago, Aníbal da Fonseca & de Souza, Maur, 2013. "Sustainable airport environments: A review of water conservation practices in airports," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 27-36.
    17. Hefa Cheng & Yuanan Hu, 2012. "Improving China’s water resources management for better adaptation to climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 253-282, May.
    18. Wanjuan Zhang & Yang Yu & Xueyu Zhou & Shuai Yang & Chuan Li, 2018. "Evaluating Water Consumption Based on Water Hierarchy Structure for Sustainable Development Using Grey Relational Analysis: Case Study in Chongqing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.

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