The increasing scarcity of water around the world prompts heated debate over the effectiveness of conservation efforts and policy initiatives.
Is water becoming increasingly scarce? If recent usage trends continue, many people believe that shortages are inevitable. Aquanomics, edited by B. Delworth Gardner and PERC Senior Fellow Randy Simmons, comprehensively examines a full range of water problems. Authors, including PERC Fellows Brandon Scarborough and P.J. Hill, reveal measures that should be implemented to avoid the onset of possible “water crises.” These policies include establishing secure and transferable private water rights and extending these rights to uses that traditionally have not been allowed, including altering in-stream flows and ecosystem operations. The authors argue that such policies will help maximize water quantity and quality even if water becomes scarcer and more valuable.
Mark Twain once quipped, “Whiskey is for drinkin’, water is for fightin’ over.” However, the authors of Aquanomics now provide proven solutions to such potential conflicts by establishing the validity of market-based approaches.
Founded 30 years ago in Bozeman, Montana, PERC—the Property and Environment Research Center—is the nation’s oldest and largest institute dedicated to improving environmental quality through property rights and markets.
PERC’s publications, each designed to resonate with specific groups, move ideas generated at PERC to broader audiences.
Research is at the heart of PERC's work, with a focus on the question: What is the link between economic growth and environmental quality?
The goal of PERC’s programs is to fully realize the vision of establishing “PERC University,” where scholars, students, policy makers, and others convene to expand the applications of free market environmentalism.
PERC's fellowships share a common goal of exposing new scholars, students, journalists, and policy makers to free market environmentalism, as well as enable scholars already familiar with FME to explore new applications.
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