Economic instruments for water management

This book argues that the economic appeal of using water charges to promote efficiency in usage and pollution control can be constrained by institutional and operational problems. Analysing the cases of France, Mexico and Brazil, the authors 'respective local experts' illustrate that barriers are similar despite the existing differences among these economies. Each country evaluation within the book is analysed using the same framework, covering topics of relevance for the application of a policy instrument, namely - policy analysis phase - the policy setting in which the water economic instrument (EI) was introduced as a means of achieving policy goals; instrument design phase; the theoretical, institutional and legal basis on which the EI was conceived; instrument implementation phase - successes and failures of the EI application and its review process.