Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Irrigation efficiency for who?

I live halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. Pretty much what you would call desert if you were new to the area like I am. Water is an issue as much of it comes from the Colorado river. The limits to draw water from the Colorado are still being determined or in a flux. The states […]

Marseille: full canal and empty streams

Thoughts on this commentary? Marseille: full canal and empty streams, The one-handed economist, Margot . . . Margot writes* Despite being located in a dry and warm region, Marseille is described as the “world capital of water” by the World Water Forum. Indeed, Marseille is known for its efficient water management and water infrastructures like the […]

Institutions and markets

David Zetland at Aguanomics ponders the interplay of institutions and markets (reposted with authors permission). LocaL conditions in this context are those conditions in a watershed area. This is what I mean by institutions I wrote this for some partners on our water project, and I post it here because it seems to give a […]

Water, human rights and government failure

by David Zetland Water, human rights and government failure I wrote a paper on a human right to water several years ago,* in which I made the point (using data!) that laws supporting a human right to water are unlikely to work in countries where the rule of law is weak.** But what about places […]

Hurricane Sandy and choices for the future

by David Zetland   David Zetland is a senior water economist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and maintains a blog on water issues at Aguanomics Hurricane Sandy and choices for the future I live in the Netherlands, where living below sea level for many years has driven the Dutch to take flooding and storm surges […]

Water economics for beginners

From David Zetland (Aguanomics) comes this note… Marginal Revolution University [free, online] has released 14 lessons (2-7 min, each) on water economics as part of its development economics unit. They give a decent introduction to several issues. I am going to contribute a few lessons. The series has a point of view about an economic […]

Will San Diego make the desalination mistake?

(Dan here…a recent talk I attended on water in Burkina Faso reminded me to look at another important issue even for the US) by David Zetland    David Zetland is a senior water economist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and maintains a blog on water issues at Aguanomics. Will San Diego make the desalination mistake? […]

Miya Water’s quest to plug leaks

Via David Zetland’s Aguanomics. I continue to follow David’s thinking on how to plan, price, and ultimately use water in a 21st century manner. He offers interesting notions on the roles of government/pricing (and markets). There is currently big bucks involved and only to grow in importance and critical decisions to be made. Water is […]