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Market Power in Water Markets

Author

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  • Erik Ansink

    (IVM, VU University Amsterdam, and Wageningen University)

  • Harold Houba

    (VU University Amsterdam)

Abstract

This discussion paper led to a publication in 'Journal of Environmental Economics and Management' . Water markets with market power are analysed as multi-market Cournot competition in which the river structure constrains access to local markets and limited resources impose capacity constraints. Conditions for uniqueness are identified. Lerner indices are larger under binding resource constraints. The number of cases explodes in the number of local markets. Under quadratic benefit functions and symmetric constant marginal extraction costs, closed-form solutions for selected cases are derived, and numerical implementation through a single optimization program is available. Upstream locations face less competition than downstream. Observed price patterns in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District are consistent with the theoretical results.

Suggested Citation

  • Erik Ansink & Harold Houba, 2010. "Market Power in Water Markets," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 10-054/1, Tinbergen Institute, revised 16 May 2011.
  • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20100054
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    Cited by:

    1. Houba, Harold & van der Laan, Gerard & Zeng, Yuyu, 2014. "Asymmetric Nash Solutions in the River Sharing Problem," Strategic Behavior and the Environment, now publishers, vol. 4(4), pages 321-360, December.
    2. Harold Houba & Françeska Tomori, 2023. "Stackelberg Social Equilibrium in Water Markets," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-9, July.
    3. Michler, Jeffrey D. & Wu, Steven Y., 2020. "Governance and contract choice: Theory and evidence from groundwater irrigation markets," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 129-147.
    4. Ansink, Erik & Houba, Harold, 2016. "Sustainable agreements on stochastic river flow," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 92-117.
    5. Aneel Karnani & Brent McFerran & Anirban Mukhopadhyay, 2016. "The Obesity Crisis as Market Failure: An Analysis of Systemic Causes and Corrective Mechanisms," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(3), pages 445-470.
    6. Elham Erfanian & Alan R. Collins, 2017. "Charges for Water and Access: What Explains the Differences in West Virginia Municipalities?," Working Papers Working Paper 2017-02, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University.
    7. Erik Ansink & Harold Houba, 2014. "The Economics of Transboundary River Management," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 14-132/VIII, Tinbergen Institute.
    8. Elham Erfanian & Alan R. Collins, 2018. "Charges for Water and Access: What Explains the Differences Among West Virginian Municipalities?," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(04), pages 1-27, October.
    9. Françeska Tomori & Erik Ansink & Harold Houba & Nick Hagerty & Charles Bos, 2021. "Market power in California's water market," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 21-011/VIII, Tinbergen Institute.
    10. Athanasios Tsiarapas & Zisis Mallios, 2023. "Estimating the long-term impact of market power on the welfare gains from groundwater markets," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 25(3), pages 377-406, July.
    11. Fabien Martinez, 2015. "A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Framework of Corporate Water Responsibility," Post-Print hal-02887624, HAL.
    12. Tomori, Françeska & Ansink, Erik & Houba, Harold & Hagerty, Nick & Bos, Charles, 2021. "Market power in California’s water market," Working Papers 2072/534854, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    13. Jingjing Wang & Xiaoyang Wang, 2023. "Why is water illiquid?: The NQH2O water index futures," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 602-621, March.
    14. Ellen M. Bruno & Richard J. Sexton, 2020. "The Gains from Agricultural Groundwater Trade and the Potential for Market Power: Theory and Application," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(3), pages 884-910, May.
    15. Bruno, Ellen M. & Sexton, Richard J., 2017. "The Impacts of Market Power in Agricultural Groundwater Markets," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258434, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Adriana V. Madzharov & Suresh Ramanathan & Lauren G. Block, 2016. "The Halo Effect of Product Color Lightness on Hedonic Food Consumption," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(4), pages 579-591.
    17. Abraham, Anand & Ramachandran, Parthasarathy, 2021. "The welfare implications of transboundary storage and dam ownership on river water trade," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 18-27.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Water markets; oligopoly; market power; Cournot-Walras equilibrium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water

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