@article{Olmstead:42919,
      recid = {42919},
      author = {Olmstead, Sheila M. and Stavins, Robert N.},
      title = {Comparing Price and Non-price Approaches to Urban Water  Conservation},
      address = {2008-09},
      number = {835-2016-55552},
      series = {NRM},
      pages = {29},
      year = {2008},
      abstract = {Urban water conservation is typically achieved through  prescriptive regulations, including the rationing of water  for particular uses and requirements for the installation  of particular technologies. A significant shift has  occurred in pollution control regulations toward  market-based policies in recent decades. We offer an  analysis of the relative merits of market-based and  prescriptive approaches to water conservation, where prices  have rarely been used to allocate scarce supplies. The  analysis emphasizes the emerging theoretical and empirical  evidence that using prices to manage water demand is more  cost-effective than implementing non-price conservation  programs, similar to results for pollution control in  earlier decades. Price-based approaches also have  advantages in terms of monitoring and enforcement. In terms  of predictability and equity, neither policy instrument has  an inherent advantage over the other. As in any policy  context, political considerations are important.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/42919},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.42919},
}