Economics of Water Resources: From Regulation to Privatization

In this review of Economics of Water Resources: From Regulation to Privatization, the reviewer finds a rigorous, policy-focused text best suited for advanced students, practitioners and decision makers interested in water economics. The Second Edition updates central theses on integrating water quantity and quality, treating water as a multi-product commodity, and re-evaluating public regulation versus private provision; its single biggest reason to buy is the clear argument for market-based pricing and expanded privatization as a path to modernization of water supply and treatment.

Key Features

• Integrated quantity-quality approach: The book explains how treating water as a multi-product commodity improves pricing that discriminates by quality, helping managers align supply with diverse uses.
• Market emphasis: A central argument for greater reliance on markets clarifies how private capital can accelerate development and modernization of water infrastructure.
• Critical view of regulation: The authors describe drawbacks of public controls and enforcement, offering a thorough critique useful to policymakers weighing reform.
• Basin-level management focus: The call for unification and centralization at the river basin level provides a practical governance scale for integrated planning.
• Updated Second Edition: Revisions build on favorable reception of the first edition and expand exposition of the authors' central theses.

Who It's For

The book is best for graduate students in natural resource management, civil and environmental engineers with an interest in policy, and public or private sector professionals involved in water supply, wastewater treatment, or basin planning. Its analytical focus and policy recommendations suit readers who want a conceptual and practical case for market mechanisms and privatization.

Readers seeking a general introduction to hydrology or a purely technical engineering manual should look elsewhere, as the text emphasizes economic frameworks, governance issues and policy critique rather than step-by-step design or field procedures.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Clear synthesis of quantity and quality issues helps readers appreciate water as a multi-product commodity.
• Persuasive discussion of privatization and private capital shows pathways for modernization of treatment and supply systems.
• Practical governance recommendation to centralize management at the river basin level grounds the economic arguments in a real-world administrative scale.

Cons

• The book focuses on economic and policy argumentation rather than technical design, which may limit usefulness for readers seeking engineering-level guidance.

Specifications

Title	Economics of Water Resources: From Regulation to Privatization
Edition	Second Edition
Series	Natural Resource Management and Policy
Authors	Nicolas Spulber; Asghar Sabbaghi
Primary focus	Integration of water quantity-quality and market-based pricing
Policy emphasis	Privatization of supply and treatment, basin-level unification

Our Verdict

Economics of Water Resources is a thoughtful, well-argued text for those who need a policy-oriented economic framework for water management; it provides good value to students and practitioners who want rigorous rationale for market approaches and basin-level governance, though engineers looking for technical design guidance should supplement it with applied manuals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this edition update the original arguments?
The Second Edition expands and updates the exposition of the authors' central theses and responds to the favorable reception of the first edition.

Is this book technical engineering guidance?
No, the emphasis is on economic frameworks, regulation and governance rather than step-by-step technical design.

Who authored the book?
The volume is written by Nicolas Spulber and Asghar Sabbaghi and appears in the Natural Resource Management and Policy series.