The Economics of Water Scarcity in the Middle East and North Africa: Institutional Solutions

Abstract

Front Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Main Messages -- Acknowledgments -- About the Authors -- Executive Summary -- Abbreviations -- Part I The Status Quo Institutions That Allocate Water -- Chapter 1 An Economic View of Water Scarcity: The Inescapable Role of the State in Allocating Water -- Introduction -- What is the price of water? -- Identifying reform directions using an economic lens -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 2 Middle East and North Africa: Diversity of Economic and Hydrological Context -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 3 Supply-Side Institutions That Build Large Infrastructure but Fail to Reduce Water Stress -- Origins and evolution of water institutions in the Middle East and North Africa -- Industrial-scale expansion of water-related infrastructure -- Signs of distress in managing supply-side infrastructure -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 4 Demand-Side Behavior That Challenges States' Ability to Raise Finance and Regulate Water -- Drivers of water demand -- How the two main consumptive uses of water-irrigated agriculture and cities-interact and shape long-term financing options -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 5 Externalities: Status and Trends of Water Depletion and Pollution -- Identification of externalities is a first step toward valuing water -- Water depletion -- Pollution of freshwater and marine resources -- compound effects of water-related externalities -- Hidden costs of water-related externalities -- Notes -- References -- Part II Understanding Why Status Quo Institutions Produce Outcomes That Endanger Water Security and Well-Being -- Chapter 6 Economic Framework to Understand How State Institutions Function in Allocating, Managing, and Investing in Water -- Introduction -- The framework -- Applying the framework to understand the state's tariff and revenue-raising capacity to invest in water.