IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/waterr/v25y2011i3p929-940.html

Roles of Levies for Sustainable Domestic Water Consumption

Author

Listed:
  • Zhifang Wu

  • Jennifer McKay
  • Elizabeth Hemphill

Abstract

Sustainable development is the modern rhetoric to guide environmental or natural resources management. There are many ways to do this and one is the wider utilization of economic instruments, such as taxes and levies. Although such levies are becoming common in Australia and worldwide, the role of the taxes or levies is still limited. In many cases, these taxes/levies -although environmentally related- have a fiscal rather than a purely environmental motive, for example, the Natural Resources Management (NRM) Levy in South Australia. This study evaluates the NRM levy policy using one NRM region and focussing on the Adelaide urban community. Data was collected through a web-based survey with 770 respondents who answered 59 questions. The research found that community strongly prefers a levy calculated on the volume of water consumed. Respondents also indicated that they would use less water if the levy were calculated on the volume of water consumed. The clear implications of the results suggest that if a tax or levy aims to change water consumption behaviour then it should be based on the volume of water consumed not on property value. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Suggested Citation

  • Zhifang Wu & Jennifer McKay & Elizabeth Hemphill, 2011. "Roles of Levies for Sustainable Domestic Water Consumption," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(3), pages 929-940, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:25:y:2011:i:3:p:929-940
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-010-9734-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11269-010-9734-5
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11269-010-9734-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alistair Watson, 2003. "Approaches to Increasing River Flows," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 36(2), pages 213-224, June.
    2. Junying Chu & Can Wang & Jining Chen & Hao Wang, 2009. "Agent-Based Residential Water Use Behavior Simulation and Policy Implications: A Case-Study in Beijing City," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 23(15), pages 3267-3295, December.
    3. Subhash Andey & Prakash Kelkar, 2009. "Influence of Intermittent and Continuous Modes of Water Supply on Domestic Water Consumption," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 23(12), pages 2555-2566, September.
    4. Zimmer, Mary R. & Stafford, Thomas F. & Stafford, Marla Royne, 1994. "Green issues: Dimensions of environmental concern," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 63-74, May.
    5. R. Maria Saleth & Ariel Dinar, 2004. "The Institutional Economics of Water," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3443.
    6. Gilg, Andrew & Barr, Stewart, 2006. "Behavioural attitudes towards water saving? Evidence from a study of environmental actions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 400-414, May.
    7. Madajewicz, Malgosia & Pfaff, Alexander & van Geen, Alexander & Graziano, Joseph & Hussein, Iftikhar & Momotaj, Hasina & Sylvi, Roksana & Ahsan, Habibul, 2008. "Erratum to "Can information alone change behavior? Response to arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh" [Journal of Development Economics 84 (2007) 731-754]," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1-2), pages 349-347, February.
    8. repec:wbk:wbpubs:14884 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Aretino, Barbara & Holland, Paula & Matysek, Anna & Peterson, Deborah C., 2001. "Cost Sharing for Biodiversity Conservation: A Conceptual Framework," Staff Research Papers 31915, Productivity Commission.
    10. Hatfield-Dodds, Steve, 2006. "The catchment care principle: A new equity principle for environmental policy, with advantages for efficiency and adaptive governance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 373-385, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Martin Quinn & Theodore Lynn & Stephen Jollands & Binesh Nair, 2016. "Domestic Water Charges in Ireland - Issues and Challenges Conveyed through Social Media," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(10), pages 3577-3591, August.
    2. Christian Richter & Rainer Stamminger, 2012. "Water Consumption in the Kitchen – A Case Study in Four European Countries," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(6), pages 1639-1649, April.
    3. Tongtong Zhao & Bo Shao, 2022. "Domestic Water Consumption and Its Influencing Factors in the Yellow River Basin Based on Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index and Decoupling Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Liu, Duan & Peng, Liyun & Wang, Qiuhong & Wan, Hong & Yu, Nizhou, 2025. "Water resources tax and corporate R&D strategies: Policy effects on innovation investment and collaboration preference," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 2276-2298.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jesús Manuel López-Bonilla & María del Carmen Reyes-Rodríguez & Luis Miguel López-Bonilla, 2019. "Interactions and Relationships between Personal Factors in Pro-Environmental Golf Tourist Behaviour: A Gender Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Dinar, Ariel, 2012. "Economy-wide implications of direct and indirect policy interventions in the water sector: lessons from recent work and future research needs," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6068, The World Bank.
    3. Aggarwal, Khushboo & Barua, Rashmi & Vidal-Fernandez, Marian, 2024. "Still Waters Run Deep: Groundwater Contamination and Education Outcomes in India," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    4. Chockalingam Senthil Nathan & Isreal Densingh Joshua, 2016. "Redesigning the marketing mix for eco-friendly product consumption among non-purchasers in India," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 11(1), pages 355-370, April.
    5. Brown, Joe & Hamoudi, Amar & Jeuland, Marc & Turrini, Gina, 2017. "Seeing, believing, and behaving: Heterogeneous effects of an information intervention on household water treatment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 141-159.
    6. Liu, Wenling & Zhang, Jinyun & Bluemling, Bettina & Mol, Arthur P.J. & Wang, Can, 2015. "Public participation in energy saving retrofitting of residential buildings in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 287-296.
    7. Calvin Thigpen & Kelcie Ralph & Nicholas J. Klein & Anne Brown, 2023. "Can information increase support for transportation reform? Results from an experiment," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 893-912, June.
    8. repec:iwt:conppr:h042926 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Mansoora Ahmed & Sun Zehou & Syed Ali Raza & Muhammad Asif Qureshi & Sara Qamar Yousufi, 2020. "Impact of CSR and environmental triggers on employee green behavior: The mediating effect of employee well‐being," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2225-2239, September.
    10. Benno Torgler & Bruno S. Frey & Clevo Wilson, 2007. "Environmental and Pro-Social Norms: Evidence from 30 Countries," Working Papers 2007.84, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    11. repec:iwt:bosers:h042163 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Lenka Slavíková & Vítězslav Malý & Michael Rost & Lubomír Petružela & Ondřej Vojáček, 2013. "Impacts of Climate Variables on Residential Water Consumption in the Czech Republic," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(2), pages 365-379, January.
    13. Herrera-Almanza, Catalina & Rosales-Rueda, Maria F., 2020. "Reducing the Cost of Remoteness: Community-Based Health Interventions and Fertility Choices," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    14. Bennear, Lori S. & Olmstead, Sheila M., 2008. "The impacts of the "right to know": Information disclosure and the violation of drinking water standards," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 117-130, September.
    15. Wilson, R. Trevor, 2007. "Perceptions, practices, principles and policies in provision of livestock water in Africa," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 90(1-2), pages 1-12, May.
    16. Jinsoo Hwang & Hyunjoon Kim, 2019. "Consequences of a green image of drone food delivery services: The moderating role of gender and age," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 872-884, July.
    17. Kamyar Kianpour & Maryam Asghari, 2012. "Importance of Price for Buying Environmentally Friendly Products," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 4(6), pages 371-375.
    18. Estefanya Charlotte Vazquez-Casaubon & Veroline Cauberghe & Dieneke Van de Sompel, 2024. "“I conserve more water than others, do I?" An exploratory study examining self-assessment misperceptions of water conservation," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 7303-7317, March.
    19. Roe, Terry & Dinar, Ariel & Tsur, Yacov & Diao, Xinshen, 2005. "Feedback links between economy-wide and farm-level policies: With application to irrigation water management in Morocco," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 905-928, November.
    20. Afridi, Farzana & Debnath, Sisir & Somanathan, E., 2021. "A breath of fresh air: Raising awareness for clean fuel adoption," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    21. Bhaduri, Anik & Djanibekov, Nodir, 2015. "Adoption of Water-Efficient Technology: Role of Water Price Flexibility, Tenure Uncerntainty and Production Targets in Uzbekistan," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211336, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    22. Maria Carmela Aprile & Damiano Fiorillo, 2016. "Water Conservation Behavior and Environmental Concerns," Discussion Papers 6_2016, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:25:y:2011:i:3:p:929-940. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.