Arbeitspapier

Turn off the faucet: Solving excess water consumption with individual meters

When consumption of water and other utilities is measured collectively and payment for such services is equally shared among members of the group, individuals may use more than what is socially optimal. In this paper, we evaluate how installation of individual meters affects water consumption. Using rich administrative data from the public water utility company in Quito, Ecuador, it is estimated that water consumption decreases by about 8% as a result of the introduction of individual metering. The effect is large and economically significant: in order to obtain the same effect prices would have to double. Individual water metering could be a useful tool to curve down consumption in both developing and developed countries.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: IDB Working Paper Series ; No. IDB-WP-1152

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
Externalities
Renewable Resources and Conservation: Demand and Supply; Prices
Renewable Resources and Conservation: Water
Environmental Economics: Government Policy
Thema
Water consumption
Commons problem
Institutions
Individual meters
Price elasticity
Regression discontinuity
Difference-in-difference

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Carrillo, Paul E.
Contreras, Ivette
Scartascini, Carlos G.
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
(wo)
Washington, DC
(wann)
2021

DOI
doi:10.18235/0003719
Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:41 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Carrillo, Paul E.
  • Contreras, Ivette
  • Scartascini, Carlos G.
  • Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Entstanden

  • 2021

Ähnliche Objekte (12)