Urban Water Pricing and Private Interests’ Lobbying in Small Rural Communities
It is difficult for small municipalities to ensure their urban water cycle complies with the principle of cost recovery established in the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive. Unlike more populous municipalities, small municipalities face higher average production costs. However, at least...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/12/3509 |
| _version_ | 1797544763491090432 |
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| author | Fernando Alguacil-Duarte Francisco González-Gómez Salvador del Saz-Salazar |
| author_facet | Fernando Alguacil-Duarte Francisco González-Gómez Salvador del Saz-Salazar |
| author_sort | Fernando Alguacil-Duarte |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is difficult for small municipalities to ensure their urban water cycle complies with the principle of cost recovery established in the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive. Unlike more populous municipalities, small municipalities face higher average production costs. However, at least in Spain, the price of water is, on average, lower in small municipalities. We question whether the low price of water in rural areas is due, at least in part, to people linked to agriculture, i.e., do farmers constitute a special interest group that hinders increases in the price of water? The main hypothesis was tested with data taken from Torre-Cardela, a municipality in southern Spain with close to 800 inhabitants. In the research a contingent valuation analysis was carried out to analyze respondents’ willingness to pay in the event of a hypothetical increase in the price of water to help cover the service costs. Contrary to expectations, the study yields no evidence that the agricultural population is more resistant to price rises than the rest of the citizens surveyed. In fact, results show that people involved in the agricultural sector would be willing to accept a hypothetical increase in water tariffs in between 15% and 25% over the current tariff, while for the rest of the population this same increase would be lower (in between 9% and 20%). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:05:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8db93620d36643a3b272f90f712cd5f1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:05:02Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-8db93620d36643a3b272f90f712cd5f12023-11-21T00:43:47ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-12-011212350910.3390/w12123509Urban Water Pricing and Private Interests’ Lobbying in Small Rural CommunitiesFernando Alguacil-Duarte0Francisco González-Gómez1Salvador del Saz-Salazar2Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Applied Economics and Water Research Institute, Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartment of Applied Economics II, Faculty of Economics, University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, SpainIt is difficult for small municipalities to ensure their urban water cycle complies with the principle of cost recovery established in the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive. Unlike more populous municipalities, small municipalities face higher average production costs. However, at least in Spain, the price of water is, on average, lower in small municipalities. We question whether the low price of water in rural areas is due, at least in part, to people linked to agriculture, i.e., do farmers constitute a special interest group that hinders increases in the price of water? The main hypothesis was tested with data taken from Torre-Cardela, a municipality in southern Spain with close to 800 inhabitants. In the research a contingent valuation analysis was carried out to analyze respondents’ willingness to pay in the event of a hypothetical increase in the price of water to help cover the service costs. Contrary to expectations, the study yields no evidence that the agricultural population is more resistant to price rises than the rest of the citizens surveyed. In fact, results show that people involved in the agricultural sector would be willing to accept a hypothetical increase in water tariffs in between 15% and 25% over the current tariff, while for the rest of the population this same increase would be lower (in between 9% and 20%).https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/12/3509water pricerural areascontingent valuationwillingness to paylobbywater framework directive |
| spellingShingle | Fernando Alguacil-Duarte Francisco González-Gómez Salvador del Saz-Salazar Urban Water Pricing and Private Interests’ Lobbying in Small Rural Communities Water water price rural areas contingent valuation willingness to pay lobby water framework directive |
| title | Urban Water Pricing and Private Interests’ Lobbying in Small Rural Communities |
| title_full | Urban Water Pricing and Private Interests’ Lobbying in Small Rural Communities |
| title_fullStr | Urban Water Pricing and Private Interests’ Lobbying in Small Rural Communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban Water Pricing and Private Interests’ Lobbying in Small Rural Communities |
| title_short | Urban Water Pricing and Private Interests’ Lobbying in Small Rural Communities |
| title_sort | urban water pricing and private interests lobbying in small rural communities |
| topic | water price rural areas contingent valuation willingness to pay lobby water framework directive |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/12/3509 |
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