WRRCTMR No.29 A Review of the Theories and Empirical Studies on the Demand for Water

Abstract

Although efforts to include market concepts in the study of water demand appear in the technical literature as early as 1926 (Metcalf, 1926), it was not until 1959 that some of the more difficult conceptual issues relating to economic demand versus physical requirement were separated (Ciriacy-Wantrup, 1959). Since then, various efforts have been made both by water engineers and economists to further clarify these issues in both theoretical and empirical terms. This paper presents a review of some developments and suggests improvements in several areas.